Funders

What Funders does

Funders (legal entity: Funders VC) is a privately held venture capital firm founded in 2024, headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, with a primary corporate footprint in the United Kingdom. The firm invests at the seed stage in startups building across FinTech, Web3/DeFi, AI, and SaaS, supporting founders "from 0 to 1, and 1 to 100" through both initial checks and dedicated follow-on capital. The team is small and partner-led: 3 General Partners (Marfa Shishkina as Founder & GP, Aleksandr Nechaev focused on Digital Assets & DeFi, Aleksandr Alemaskin as CFO & Partner) supported by 4 investment-team members (Associate, Senior Associate, Junior Associate, and Growth & Partnerships Manager).

The firm operates three core product lines: (1) Venture Investments — conventional equity capital plus network access; (2) Digital Assets & DeFi — deploying capital across on-chain and off-chain strategies including DeFi yield, options, fixed income, private credit, and structured products; and (3) ProLab — an in-house product development studio that embeds engineers shoulder-to-shoulder with portfolio teams for product-market-fit work and full-stack build-outs. The portfolio spans 20+ companies including Stabble (Top 5 Solana DEX), Nodepay (1M+ active nodes), Renesis ($30M AUM DeFi portfolio management), Syntropia ($200M+ Hyperliquid volume), Hapday (3M users), Evolve (2.6M learners across 100+ companies), Rapyd, and Signa.

Commercially, Funders explicitly states it is "not an investment fund" and "not subject to financial regulatory oversight," positioning itself as an angel/syndicate-style vehicle rather than a regulated fund manager. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed; the firm sources deals through direct outreach, founder referrals, and portfolio-network channels across geographies spanning the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Singapore, UAE, and Colombia. No fund size, AUM, or fee structure is disclosed, and the firm has not raised institutional external funding of its own.

Name

Funders

Legal name

Funders VC

Website

https://funders.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Funders is a 2024-vintage seed-stage venture capital firm backing FinTech, Web3/DeFi, and AI startups globally. It invests via equity with embedded product support through its in-house ProLab studio and operates from Cyprus/UK with 7 staff and 20+ portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Venture capital investments
• Seed-stage funding
• Decentralized finance investing
• Fintech venture capital
• Product development studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Limassol

HQ country

Cyprus

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Funders VC generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies. They provide capital at various stages from seed (0 to 1) through follow-on funding (1 to 100) and benefit from portfolio company growth and exits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Funders (Funders VC) is a private venture capital firm that invests seed-stage capital in ambitious startups building in FinTech, AI, and Web3/crypto sectors across the Americas and Europe. Beyond capital, the firm operates an in-house product development studio (ProLab) that works shoulder-to-shoulder with portfolio teams on product-market fit and full-stack build-out, and deploys capital across digital asset strategies including DeFi yield, options, fixed income, private credit, and structured products.

Product overview

Funders is a venture capital firm that provides capital, expertise, and connections for startups at various stages (0 to 1, and 1 to 100). The firm offers three core services: Venture Investments for funding cutting-edge startups, Digital Assets & DeFi for digital asset strategies, and Product Lab (ProLab) for hands-on portfolio company support. Their portfolio includes companies across DeFi (Stabble, Asterizm, Liqvid, Renesis, Syntropia, Flying Tulip), Fintech (RAND, Kamel Pay, Web2Wave, Rapyd, AMPERE, INCARD, APX Lending, OMY Payments), and AI (Hapday, AlgoX2, Evolve).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ProLab: In-house studio that works shoulder-to-shoulder with portfolio teams, from product-market fit to full-stack build-out.

Products and services

• Venture Investments Capital and network for cutting-edge startups. Funders invests in strong ambitious teams building in FinTech, AI, and Web3, providing seed-stage and follow-on capital from 0 to 1 and 1 to 100, along with network introductions and ongoing support. Targeted at early-stage startup founding teams.
• Digital Assets & DeFi Diversified liquidity strategy for sustainable yield. Funders deploys capital across digital asset strategies, both on-chain and off-chain, including DeFi yield, options, fixed income, private credit, and structured products. Targeted at the digital asset and DeFi investment thesis.
• Product Lab (ProLab) In-house studio that works shoulder-to-shoulder with portfolio teams, from product-market fit to full-stack build-out. Provides engineering support, GTM playbook, positioning, and launch experience. Targeted exclusively at Funders portfolio companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3x faster launch for Stabble's CLMM protocol (shipped 3 months ahead of schedule)
• +6 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LiqvidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiqvid is a portfolio company that has become not only an investment but also a client of Funders VC and a partner in organizing events for capital allocators. Funders provides hands-on support and the relationship extends beyond capital to operational partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Mechanism Capital: Early-stage crypto-native fund targeting DeFi, Web3, and gaming. Comparable in stage, sector, and lean-team operating model that emphasizes founder partnership.
• Alliance DAO: Crypto accelerator/fund offering capital plus in-house product and engineering support to portfolio companies — closely comparable to Funders' ProLab studio model that combines capital with hands-on product development.
• Continue Capital: Crypto venture fund focused on early-stage DeFi and Web3 infrastructure. Comparable in sector specialization and seed-stage deal flow similar to Funders' portfolio profile.

Direct peers

• Multicoin Capital: Thesis-driven crypto venture fund with deep DeFi and on-chain finance exposure. Comparable to Funders in its sector specialization, hands-on portfolio support, and early-to-growth stage crypto investing.
• 1confirmation: Early-stage crypto-native venture fund backing DeFi, Web3, and infrastructure founders. Comparable in seed-stage posture, niche crypto focus, and small specialized team model.
• Dragonfly Capital: Crypto-focused VC investing across DeFi, CeFi, and Web3 with global reach. Comparable in stage, sector focus, and operational depth supporting portfolio companies.
• Maven 11 Capital: Crypto/blockchain-focused fund investing in DeFi, infrastructure, and Web3. Comparable in seed-to-growth DeFi exposure and global European base similar to Funders' Cyprus/UK footprint.
• Pantera Capital: One of the largest crypto-native venture funds investing across DeFi, CeFi, and Web3 infrastructure. Most directly comparable to Funders given shared focus on digital-asset seed-stage investing and DeFi protocol bets.

Broad incumbents

• Paradigm: Crypto-focused investment firm with deep DeFi expertise. Comparable in DeFi specialization and research-driven investing, though with significantly more capital and a much larger team.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Crypto): Major generalist VC with a dedicated crypto fund that invests heavily in Web3 and DeFi. Comparable in sector overlap and operating-partner support model, though at vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FundersVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundersvc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments11 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Funders