Estonian Specialist VC invests in Ukrainian startup Banani AI

Tallinn-based venture fund Specialist VC has invested in Ukrainian AI startup Banani AI in a pre-seed round. The total investment amounted to €850K. Polish venture capital firm Inovo VC also participated in the round.

Banani AI is a startup founded in 2024 in Ukraine and based in Berlin. The company develops an AI co-pilot to simplify and accelerate the user interface design process. In October 2024, Banani received a $50K grant from the Ukrainian Startup Fund, supported by the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund. Founders: Vladislav Solomakha and Vova Parhomchuk.

According to Vlad Solomakha, the funds raised as a result of the new round will help the company to continue working on the development of the AI product.

Founded in Tallinn in 2017, Specialist VC is a venture capital firm that supports companies from the Baltic region, Finland and Ukraine. In early 2022, Specialist VC launched a €50M fund, supported by the Estonian LHV pension fund and the European Investment Fund through the European Guarantee Fund and the Baltic Innovation Fund 2. Specialist VC's partners are Kaspar Hanni, Riivo Anton, Tõnu Esko, and Gerri Kodres.

Inovo VC is a venture capital fund founded in 2011 and based in Warsaw, Poland. The company specializes in investing in pre-seed, seed and Series A startups, focusing on technology companies in Central and Eastern Europe.