Pre-seed to Succeed

This Tuesday, Pre-seed to Succeed hosted AI Startups Meetup & Pitching Session, which turned an incredible evening during AI Summit Barcelona! Check out the event's highlights and join the upcoming Pitch&Drink in Lisbon🎤

Work Hard – Event Harder 🗣️ Startup founders who skip industry events lose out on gold-mine opportunities: meeting peers, making warm intros to investors, and building reputation in the ecosystem. But here’s a secret - not all events are worth your time. This autumn, make every event count. In the latest Pre-seed to Succeed newsletter, we spotlight the must-attend gatherings that actually move the needle — from local meetups to global summits, free virtual sessions to ticketed showcases. We also surface curated startup opportunities you won’t want to miss. Whether you’re in product, growth, fundraising, or community building - we’ve done the legwork so you can focus on what matters: showing up where you’ll get seen. 👉 Read the full issue here: P2S Newsletter #9: Work Hard - Event Harder! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gtf-YFpC Let’s make this fall the season of meaningful connections and exponential growth.

Global AI Investment Now: Growth, Dependence, and the Bubble Question At Pre-seed to Succeed, we’re actively investing in AI-native products. With Q3 reports rolling in and economists speculating about the start of 2026, we took a closer look at the current state of global AI investment. Artificial intelligence continues to dominate global venture capital flows. According to Crunchbase, global venture funding rose 38% year over year to USD 97 billion in Q3 2025, with AI startups attracting nearly 46% of total investment. In other words, almost half of all global venture dollars are now flowing into AI. For some countries, AI investment has become a key driver of economic growth. As Fortune reports, this is exactly what’s happening in the United States. Oxford Economics notes that without tech investment, U.S. GDP would have barely grown in the first half of 2025 - a sign of both AI’s positive impact and the economy’s growing dependence on it. Given that influence, Goldman Sachs offers a more cautious perspective. The firm warns that high market concentration and intensifying competition could increase the risk of an AI bubble, with potential implications for the global economy. Their advice: investors should remain diversified. While AI remains a powerful engine of innovation and productivity, the landscape is evolving. As AI becomes the default layer across most products and platforms, the focus is shifting from core AI infrastructure toward industry-specific verticals - healthcare, finance, logistics, climate tech, and beyond. That shift suggests that even if valuations adjust, the broader economy is unlikely to face a severe downturn. The next phase of AI growth will be about depth, not hype - integrating intelligence into every sector rather than chasing standalone AI plays.

Planning to attend AI SUMMIT BARCELONA? Incredible! 🔥 On October 14, the Pre-seed to Succeed team invites you to the AI Startups Meetup & Pitching Session, held as part of the Summit. Supported by AltaIR Capital, Yellow Rocks!, Smart Partnership Capital, and I2BF Global Ventures, the event brings together founders, investors, and AI experts to explore real-world applications of artificial intelligence, new investment opportunities, and live startup pitches to top venture capital funds. 📅 Date: October 14, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM 📍 Location: HARBOUR.SPACE University of Technology Here’s the agenda: - AI applications in marketing and business process automation - “How to Raise Funding for Your AI Startup” - talk by Denis Kalyshkin, Principal at I2BF Global Ventures - Startup pitch session with VCs (startups selected via open application) - Networking with founders, investors, and industry experts Format: One stage, 50–100 participants, inspiring talks, and plenty of new business connections. Participation is completely free, but registration and verification are required. 👉 Register here: https://luma.com/pds7lwaz See you in Barcelona! 

If you want to really know your future business partner - go hiking together. Unpredictable weather, from cold dawns to midday heat, a long road ahead, sore legs, and one simple goal: just keep going. The same rules apply in venture: sweat and tears, endless grinding, and the need for reliable people behind the polished picture. Nikolay Kirpichnikov, co-founder of Pre-seed to Succeed, compares his recent mountain biking trip in the Dolomites, Italy: “The trails were wet, cold, tough, and long. But in the end, I never regretted taking them - even if I limped afterward. Venture is the same. And of course, the company you keep matters most (read: the partners and founders you bet on). Venture isn’t just about the glossy photo of ringing the NYSE bell.” Uncertainty, fatigue, setbacks, wrong turns, and constant tests of resilience - these are the unseen moments that shape both the journey and the outcome. What we do get to see, though, are the amazing photos from Nikolay’s trip.

Leap is back - giving startups the chance to leap straight to the final stage of our investment process. On October 15, Pre-seed to Succeed will bring 10 top VCs and 10 select pre-seed startups for one-on-one meetings. At our previous event, Cielara AI secured funding. This time, confirmed investors include: - Martin Tobias (Incisive Ventures) — 2x IPO CEO, founder of LoudEye ($175M raised) and Upgrade Labs, now a pre-seed investor with 70+ portfolio companies, including Zapier, Carta, and UiPath. - George Z. Lin (Halfcourt Capital) — Consensus, Rain AI, Jozu, Stochastic - Gary Benerofe (Mu Ventures) — Balance, Alloy, Videowise - Igor Ryabenkiy (Altair Capital) — Miro, Deel, PandaDoc, OpenWeb, Turing - Nikolay Kirpichnikov (Smart Partnership Capital) — Ondato, Respond.io, eToro, PitchMe, AMMA - Alexander Korchevsky (I2BF Global Ventures) — ServiceTitan, Airalo, Nothing - Sergei Bogdanov PhD🚀 (Yellow Rocks) — Buddy, Praktika AI, GPU Audio - Pavel Danilov (DYDX Capital) — Animol Discovery, Bruviti, Good Eggs - Chet Kumar (Argonautic Ventures) — Grab, SuperAnnotate, Procore, The Honest Company - Nemanja Kostic (BBQ Capital) — Coherence, Navi, Pipe Format: 80-minute online event where startups have 7 minutes with each of the 10 investors. The winner will move directly to the final stage of the P2S investment process. It’s time to take your startup to the next level - submit your application now: https://luma.com/jv4zeahl If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: raise@p2s.vc, konstantin@altair.vc

The venture landscape is driven by competition. But today, we want to speak about collaboration - and what a joint effort by four VCs to support pre-seed founders with shared knowledge, ideas, and resources has become. This is the story of Pre-seed to Succeed, and we’re proud of how far it has come. What began as a side project for early-stage startups has, in almost two years, grown into a comprehensive program that includes: ✅ A steadily growing startup portfolio ✅ A global networking series, Pitch&Drink ✅ Curated match-making sessions, Leap ✅ A dedicated newsletter and platform for expertise ✅ An expanding community Backed by AltaIR Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, Yellow Rocks!, and Smart Partnership Capital, P2S combines more than 60 years of investing experience, with each partner contributing unique expertise: 🔹 Igor Ryabenkiy, Founder and MP at AltaIR Capital - 10 unicorns in the portfolio, with a focus on B2B SaaS, Future of Work, FinTech, Productivity Tools, and Digital Health. Igor is the author of the book Adventures in Venture Capital, which aims to help novice angels and entrepreneurs understand the market. 🔹 Nikolay Kirpichnikov, Partner at AltaIR Capital and MP at Smart Partnership Capital - is a VC focused on early-stage AI and SaaS startups. With 15+ years in venture and strategic finance, he works hands-on with founders as an operator-investor supporting fundraising and early execution, from pre-seed to institutional capital. 🔹 Sergei Bogdanov PhD🚀, Managing Partner at Yellow Rocks! - Sergei has a Ph.D in engineering and 20+ years of experience in business, technology, and finance. He constantly works on increasing his extensive professional network to help startups expand into global markets and become unicorns. 🔹 Alexander Korchevsky, Partner at I2BF Global Ventures - Alexander is an engineer turned investor with a focus on AI vertical software. Two decades of experience in VC, entrepreneurship, and finance, and his portfolio includes 5 unicorns. The world is changing, but one belief has always guided us: when VCs stop competing and start building together, founders win - and so does the ecosystem.

🍂 This fall is gonna be hot for startup events and networking opportunities from Pre-seed to Succeed: join us in San Francisco, Lisbon, and, of course, online! So here’s the schedule: 📆 Event: Leap: Online Speed Dating Date: October 15 Location: Online The 2nd edition of our successful match-making session between investors and startups is less than one month! The concept remained the same: 10 Startups. 10 Investors. 7-minute rapid-fire meetings. This time, the list of confirmed investors includes: 🔹 Igor Ryabenkiy (Altair Capital) — Miro, Deel, PandaDoc, OpenWeb, Turing 🔹 Nikolay Kirpichnikov (AltaIR Capital, Smart Partnership Capital) — Ondato, Respond.io, eToro, PitchMe, AMMA 🔹 Alexander Korchevskiy (I2BF Global Ventures) — ServiceTitan, Airalo, Nothing 🔹 Sergei Bogdanov PhD🚀 (Yellow Rocks) — Buddy, Praktika AI, GPU Audio 🔹 Pavel Danilov (DYDX Capital) — Animol Discovery, Bruviti, Good Eggs 🔹 Chet Kumar (Argonautic Ventures) — Grab, SuperAnnotate, Procore, The Honest Company 🔹 George Lin (Halfcourt Capital) — Consensus, Rain AI, Jozu, Stochastic 🔹 Gary Benerofe (Mu Ventures) — Balance, Alloy, Videowise 🔹 Nemanja Kostic (BBQ Ventures) — SpaceX, Forward Kitchens, Regression Games   The investors vote to determine which team will get fast-tracked to the final stage of the investment process at P2S! This event is invite-only. Submit your applications ASAP! Register 👉 https://luma.com/jv4zeahl ------- 📆 Event: Pitch & Drink with P2S.vc. TechCrunch Disrupt Date: October 27 Location: San Francisco Pre-Seed to Succeed holds its flagman venture speed dating Pitch&Drink, so it’s a calling to all founders looking for investment opportunities! You'll have 2–3 minutes to present your elevator pitch (no presentation) directly to the investor, followed by a 6-7 minute Q&A session. After 10 minutes the gong sounds and  the founders change their place. 5pm- 7pm - exclusively reserved for investors and approved startups to showcase their elevator pitches After 7pm - the doors open to welcome all other guests Don’t forget to submit this form to participate in pitching https://lnkd.in/dSDwJ4Xj ‼️If you are selected to pitch, you will receive an email with full instructions. Otherwise, just come at 7 pm for networking Only for guests 21+ Register 👉 https://luma.com/ubkt9j1q ------- 📆 Event: Pitch & Drink with P2S.vc. Web Summit Date: November 10 Location: Lisbon Pitch&Drink during Web Summit - a night in Lisbon where founders and investors meet under one roof to connect and have a good time with a drink. The format remains the same: 2–3 minutes for an elevator pitch one-to-one with investors, followed by a 6-7 minute Q&A session. We’re waiting for your applications if you’re: 🔹 Registered company managed by a full-time team. 🔹 Working MVP. First traction. 🔹 Industries: B2B / SaaS, FinTech, AI, Future of Work, Productivity Tools, Digital Health, HR Tech. Register 👉 https://luma.com/44yyxn3v

📣 Job Alert from a P2S portfolio company Dobs.AI 📣 - a Silicon Valley startup building intelligent AI agents that help Fortune 1000 companies recover the $600B+ they lose each year to financial leakage. In under a year, Dobs AI signed Uber and HelloFresh and is scaling fast. Now the company, backed by experienced entrepreneurs and investors, is hiring engineers to join the founding team. Founding Software Engineer (Senior): https://lnkd.in/dq6iSRpV AI Engineer (Junior/Middle): https://lnkd.in/d2c23Hk3 Ready to Build the Future of Agentic AI? Send your CV, GitHub/portfolio links, and a short intro video on why you are excited about agentic AI to nik@dobs.ai. Doba.AI looks forward to hearing from you!