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Investor & partner update
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Funders VC
H1 2026 Update
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Portfolio growth, four new investments, a broader investment platform — and more context
on where Funders is heading next.
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A note from Marfa
Marfa Shishkina
Founder and General Partner, Funders VC
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“Welcome to the first Funders VC newsletter.
The first half of 2026 was an important period for our team. During this time, Funders grew
as an investment platform: the portfolio expanded, our work with founders became stronger,
new directions developed, and our investment logic became clearer.
Funders was not built to be just another investment firm. The goal was to create a model
where capital, product expertise, market access, and hands-on support work together.
Our mission remains simple: helping strong ideas find capital, and helping capital find
teams and products with real potential.
In the first half of the year, this approach continued to develop through new investments,
portfolio growth, ecosystem work, and a broader investment platform.
This newsletter is our way to share the key updates from H1 2026 and give more context on
where Funders is heading next.”
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An investment ecosystem, not a single fund
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Funders VC is an investment ecosystem built across several directions: venture investments,
liquid strategies, and ProLab.
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01
Venture
Early, growth and late-stage opportunities across our core verticals.
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02
Liquid strategies
More flexible market opportunities alongside the venture book.
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03
ProLab
Product, go-to-market, strategy and operational support for the portfolio.
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The venture side focuses on early, growth, and late-stage opportunities across fintech, regtech,
insurtech, AI infrastructure and applications, software infrastructure, robotics, and digital
asset infrastructure.
Liquid strategies allow Funders to work with more flexible market opportunities, while ProLab
helps portfolio companies with product, go-to-market, strategy, and operational support.
This structure reflects how we see the market today. Founders need more than capital. Investors
need more than access. Strong investment platforms need to connect both sides and create value
across the full company-building process.
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Four companies joined the portfolio
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In H1 2026, several new companies joined the Funders portfolio: XRobotics, Incard, Syntropia,
and Renesis.
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First robotics deal
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XRobotics became an important milestone for Funders as our first direct investment in
robotics. The company reflects our growing interest in products that combine hardware,
software, and automation to solve specific operational problems with measurable business
impact.
This investment also expands our focus beyond traditional software and fintech into
physical automation and robotics, a category we believe will become increasingly
important as AI moves from digital workflows into real-world operations.
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Incard fits our thesis around fintech infrastructure and cross-border financial products.
The company is building in a market where payments, business banking, international
operations, and financial access are becoming more connected.
For Funders, Incard represents the kind of fintech company we like to support:
product-driven, operationally focused, and positioned around a clear market need.
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Syntropia reflects Funders’ interest in products at the intersection of digital asset
market structure, liquidity, and more automated capital allocation.
This is a relevant direction because institutional participation in digital assets depends
not only on access to assets, but also on the quality of execution, infrastructure, and
risk management.
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Renesis
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Renesis is building institutional infrastructure for onchain fund operations. The product
helps fund managers with portfolio operations, position reconciliation, reporting, and more
efficient workflows.
For Funders, Renesis is an important addition to the portfolio because the next stage of
digital asset adoption will require stronger operational infrastructure, clearer
reporting, and systems that can support institutional workflows.
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Companies already in the portfolio kept moving
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Alongside new investments, companies already in our portfolio also continued to move forward.
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KamelPay reached an important regulatory milestone in the UAE. The company received
In-Principle Approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for Stored Value Facilities and
Retail Payment Services licenses. This is an important step for KamelPay as it continues
building payment infrastructure in one of the key fintech markets in the region.
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Rapyd was named among the World’s Top Fintech Companies for the third year in a row.
This recognition reflects the company’s continued position as one of the most visible
global players in fintech infrastructure and cross-border payments.
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Asterizm continued expanding its omnichain infrastructure. In the first half of the year,
the company completed its integration with Cardano, connecting Cardano to Asterizm’s
infrastructure for cross-chain messaging, asset transfers, and multi-chain application
logic across EVM and non-EVM networks.
Asterizm also went live on the Canton Network devnet, expanding its work with enterprise
and institutional blockchain environments.
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APX Lending finished FY2026 with strong operating momentum across both direct lending and
Lending-as-a-Service. The company continued to grow its lending activity, expanded partner
distribution across several markets, and maintained a clean credit track record.
During the period, APX also strengthened the economics of its lending model through a new
credit facility with a lower cost of capital. After year-end, the company launched its
Lending-as-a-Service integration with Netcoins, adding another distribution channel for
its crypto-backed lending products.
For Funders, this update shows that APX is not only expanding geographically, but also
building a more scalable infrastructure model for digital-asset lending.
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Growth across the platform
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≈2×
AUM growth
over the first six months
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3×
AUM target
by the end of 2026
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4
New companies
joined in H1 2026
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AUM almost doubled over the first six months of the year. By the end of 2026, the goal is to
grow AUM by roughly 3x from the current level.
This growth is not tied to one direction. It reflects the development of several investment
lines, including venture, digital assets, loans, and funds.
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Ecosystem work
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Hosted events together with Cointelegraph, Yield Network, INK and other partners
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Joined the Starknet Mentorship Program as mentors
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Participated in judging at DOERS Summit
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Expanded ProLab’s work with portfolio companies
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Continued growing the team and international partner network
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Media milestone
Marfa Shishkina published an article in CBC Focus
In the article, Marfa shared her perspective on entrepreneurship, capital, and the
role of long-term company building in today’s market.
Given Funders’ presence in Cyprus, this was also a meaningful opportunity to
contribute to the local conversation around startups, investment, and the
development of the regional business ecosystem. Cyprus remains an important part
of the Funders story, and the team is glad to continue supporting the region as
it grows.
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The focus for H2 2026
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All of this leads into our focus for the second half of the year.
On the venture side, the team will continue looking at opportunities across early, growth, and
late-stage companies in several core verticals: fintech, regtech, insurtech, AI infrastructure
and applications, software infrastructure, and robotics.
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Investment focus, H2 2026
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→ Working products
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→ Efficient growth
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→ Smart capital allocation
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→ Stronger execution
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The market environment is still selective. That makes discipline more important. For Funders, the
next stage is not only about growth, but about how that growth translates into stronger portfolio
outcomes, better investor opportunities, and a more effective investment platform.
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We are grateful to our portfolio founders, partners, investors, and everyone who continues to be
part of the Funders journey.
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More updates soon.
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Funders VC
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All content published by Funders VC and its affiliated channels is intended solely to attract and
engage founders seeking funding opportunities. Funders VC is not an investment fund, is not
subject to financial regulatory oversight, and the information provided is not directed at third
parties (e.g. investors) for the purpose of soliciting funds. Nothing in this newsletter
constitutes investment advice, a recommendation, or an invitation to act. We do not offer,
suggest, or promote any financial decisions or strategies.
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