YEP Accelerator selects first cohort of seven Ukrainian startups for Silicon Valley — $3M in investment commitments secured
In May, we covered YEP Accelerator’s announcement that it was opening a Silicon Valley track for growth-stage Ukrainian startups — backed by the EBRD and funded by Switzerland. Applications closed on May 31. The cohort has now been selected, and the seven startups heading to San Francisco this fall represent one of the most focused bets on Ukrainian tech talent entering the US market to date.
YEP Accelerator has announced the first cohort for its five-week in-person programme in San Francisco, culminating in a Demo Day on October 20 at The SVB Experience Center — the innovation hub created by Silicon Valley Bank in the heart of the city. Since the open call, the organizers have secured $3 million in soft investment commitments from partner funds — up from the $1.8 million announced at launch, a 67% increase that signals growing investor appetite for Ukrainian founders with US market ambitions.
The seven startups heading to San Francisco
The programme: D.C., then San Francisco, then Demo Day
The five-week residency begins with a large-scale networking segment in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, organized in partnership with the Emerging Technology Center at Baltimore Development Corporation. The East Coast kickoff gives the startups their first connections with US investors and partners before they move to the Bay Area.
In San Francisco, founders will live and work together in shared co-living — a deliberate design choice that keeps the focus entirely on growth, fundraising, and ecosystem integration. Over the course of five weeks, the teams will participate in dozens of meetings with customers, investors, and partners, and attend key ecosystem events including SF Tech Week, TechCrunch Disrupt, and One Way Summit.
The programme has already delivered 130+ one-on-one mentor sessions during its preparation phase — covering positioning, founder-led sales, fundraising readiness, and US market entry strategy — before the startups even arrive in the US.
“All the startups we worked with in the first stage of the program proved to be very strong. But our goal is more specific: for them to confidently pitch to seed-stage investors in the US by October. Our job is to come back from San Francisco not just with experience, but with real investment deals.”
— Andrii Zaikin, CEO & Founder, YEP Accelerator
From $1.8M to $3M: growing investor appetite
When we covered the programme launch in May, organizers had secured $1.8 million in potential investment from nine partner venture funds. Two months later, that figure has grown to $3 million in soft commitments — a 67% increase that reflects both the quality of the selected cohort and the broader momentum behind Ukrainian founders in the US investor community.
The Demo Day on October 20 at The SVB Experience Center will be the culmination — and the moment where those soft commitments become real term sheets. The partner fund lineup includes u.ventures, ZAS Ventures, Geek Ventures, Angel One Fund, Vesna Capital, Green Flag Ventures, Network VC, Dnipro VC, and Flyer One Ventures.
Why this cohort matters
The seven startups reflect a deliberate mix. Five of the seven are AI-native companies — from autonomous customer support (Obriy) to predictive outreach analytics (Unpitch) to mental health via API (Elomia). The remaining two tackle enterprise workflow automation (Almexoft) and last-mile logistics (JetBeep). All have live products and paying customers — a programme requirement that filters out the idea-stage companies most accelerators fill their cohorts with.
JetBeep’s entry is particularly notable: the smart locker company earned its place by winning the Ukrainian final of the Startup World Cup, adding a competitive validation layer on top of the application process.
For the Ukrainian startup ecosystem — which has spent four years building under extraordinary pressure — this programme represents something specific: a structured, institutionally backed bridge from hard-earned traction in Ukraine to the world’s most competitive and most rewarding startup market. The EBRD Star Venture Programme, the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, and Swiss government funding provide the institutional spine. The seven founding teams provide the ambition. October 20 will show whether the combination converts.
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