ZAS Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
ZAS Ventures is a Ukrainian-American venture fund founded by a team of former founders and operators turned investors. The firm's core thesis is that Ukraine's tech ecosystem, which has already produced over a dozen unicorns, continues to produce world-class technical talent solving hard, global-scale problems at unusual speed. ZAS positions itself as an insider to that ecosystem ("this is our backyard") and pairs sophisticated global capital with a top-tier expert network and hands-on mentorship to help Ukrainian and Central/Eastern European (CEE) founders win in the US market. The firm is explicitly industry-agnostic, preferring to back exceptional teams over a narrow vertical bet.
Stage Focus
ZAS invests at the earliest institutional stage, explicitly encouraging founders to approach them at least six months before a formal fundraise begins ("Why Approach Early"). Public deal data shows a Pre-Seed and Seed focus, with occasional participation in slightly later equity rounds for standout portfolio companies (e.g., Robutler, StackBooster).
Check Size
The firm states initial investments of $50K-$200K, typically structured as SAFE agreements to keep terms simple and founder-friendly for companies and investors alike.
Lead Tendency
Public deal records (Robutler, Ranking Copilot, Upwood, StackBooster) show ZAS frequently leading pre-seed/seed rounds, while also participating alongside other investors (Every Health). The firm retains follow-on capacity for later-stage rounds in its strongest portfolio companies.
Recent Activity
ZAS has been actively deploying through 2025 and 2026:
- September 2026: Invested $400K in Robutler, an AI agent infrastructure platform for discovery, trust, and payments.
- December 2025: Led a €50,000 pre-seed round in Upwood, a Latvian ESG/forest-investment fintech platform.
- December 2025: Backed Ranking Copilot's pre-seed round (legal directory/rankings automation for law firms).
- Approximately November 2025: Backed Gamow Tech (ReSpindle), an AI computer-vision platform for IVF embryo selection, at a €2.4M valuation.
- August 2025: Led an equity round in StackBooster, an AI-powered Kubernetes cost/performance platform.
- October 2025: Participated in Every Health's seed round (tech-enabled healthcare for the LGBTQIA+ community).
- February 2026: Published its "ZAS Pulse Q4 2025" portfolio update, covering activity across 8 portfolio companies.
Portfolio Highlights
ZAS's public portfolio page lists 14 companies spanning healthcare, dev tools/infrastructure, legaltech, sustainability, and enterprise software: S.Lab (biodegradable packaging), CloudAvocado (AWS cost management), Mantis Analytics (AI misinformation/field monitoring, since pivoted toward supply-chain decision intelligence), Aspichi (mental health infrastructure/VR), DrugCards (AI pharmacovigilance), Every Health (inclusive digital health), CROWN Procurement (AI-powered eAuctions, raised €2M in a separate round), Triberry (AI-assisted app QA/dev), Unstuck Engine (B2B targeting/ICP tooling), Stack Booster (AI-agent Kubernetes optimization), Ranking Copilot (legal rankings automation), Input Soft (airport ground-operations software), CheckEye (AI mass screening for vascular/eye disease, raised $700K), and ReSpindle (AI computer vision for IVF). Newer investments not yet reflected on the public portfolio page include Robutler and Upwood.
Team
- Andriy Zinchuk, Founder & Bizdev Leader — founder of ZAS Group, co-founder of BeFunders and Slash Games, co-founded A7 Group, advisor to an Israeli VC fund, Techstars, Antler, Seedstars, and the Ukrainian Startup Fund.
- Artem Volkhonskyi, Tech & Operations Leader — former Partner & CDO at SAGA Development, former Head of Incubation at Demium Kyiv, former CDTO at Nova Poshta and at UMH (led Forbes' first digital magazine launch).
- Olga Baranets, Venture Partner & Head of Portfolio — 11+ years in tech/venture building, launched 9+ products, led SaaS portfolios to $3M+ ARR and M&A readiness, mentored 130+ startups globally.
- Dave Matli, Venture Partner — SF-based product/design leader with 20+ years launching products and brands; has led GTM as CMO for Seed-Series B startups across AI, fintech, and healthtech.
- Deniz Pecel, Advisor (Google) — 14 years at Google with domain expertise in networking/SDN, telco, data analytics, SRE, and ML; advises multiple startups.
- Anya Rasulova, Advisor (Shopify) — 12+ years in Silicon Valley across Google, Shopify, eBay, and PayPal in corporate strategy, BizOps, and monetization.
- Dmytro Sholomko, Advisor (Google) — senior Google roles in Ukraine/Eastern Europe since 2011; previously ran a consulting firm serving large Ukrainian companies.
- Esther Katz, Advisor (b2bsocial) — CMO/strategist with 15+ years bringing tech to market, has helped raise $90M for AI/blockchain startups; runs b2bsocial.
- Michael Lyubinin, Advisor (Meta) — 25+ years in data/software engineering leadership, data-privacy advocate and mentor.
Decision Process
The firm operates as a partnership across its four principals (Zinchuk, Volkhonskyi, Baranets, Matli), supported by a broad advisor bench spanning Google, Meta, Shopify, and other top-tier operators.
Founder Preferences
ZAS looks for resilient, technical Eastern European founding teams — explicitly Ukrainian and CEE — with the ambition to compete in the US market. They favor teams that show they can "move fast" and value being approached early, well ahead of a formal raise, so they can provide strategic audit, coaching, and growth support before the round.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Ukraine and Central/Eastern Europe, with portfolio companies also expanding into or targeting the US and EU markets (e.g., Upwood in Latvia, Ranking Copilot serving UK/international law firms).
Value-Add / Post-Investment Support
ZAS structures its support around four stages after the initial check: (1) Strategic Audit covering grand strategy, market entry, biz dev, and hiring; (2) Coaching & Expert Mentorship via its advisor network of serial founders and tech executives; (3) Growth & Traction support with go-to-market expertise; and (4) Next Stage Fundraising, connecting founders to later-stage investors to keep a continuous funding path.