Ukraine’s Y Combinator-backed Awesomic sketches a fresh $800,000

Ukraine-based designer-to-client matching platform Awesomic has raised $800,000 in fresh funding, adding on to a $2 million seed round from late 2021. The company plans to use the capital to expand its geographic footprint and overcome the effects of the war in Ukraine.

The investment was provided by Pioneer Fund, Flyer One Ventures, Red Rooster Ventures, with Y Combinator managing director Michael Seibel, and Y Combinator group partner Jared Friedman participating alongside other undisclosed, yet existing, backers.

As anyone who’s ever taken a swing at creating something ‘wow!’ from nothing will tell you, designin’ ain’t easy. Whether we want to admit it or not, appealing, evocative, and compelling design can make or break just about any message brands want to send.

So crucial is the business of design to a business's bottom line that some can spend hours, days, and sometimes weeks scouring available resources to find the right designer that can deliver on the vision they’re hoping to deliver.

And once a designer is found, there’s often a tedious interview and price negotiation process involved, yet again, eating up time and money.

Looking to put AI to good use in the field of design, Awesome promises to deliver clients with a “perfect match” seemingly magically; sans interviews, for a fixed price, and within under 24 hours from posting available work.

Backed by Y Combinator, the 2022 Branding and Communications category Red Dot Design Award-winning startup was co-founded in 2020 by Pavlyshyna and Roman Sevastyanov, CEO and CTO, respectively, and says that they’ve completed over 10,000 projects for 1,500+ clients, including Reface, Ciklum, and approximately 200 Y Combinator alumni.

“As an investor, we are proud of Awesomic,” commented Kiyv/London-based Flyer One Ventures’ GP Vital Laptenok. “Its team has shown resilience and dedication at such a tough time — amid the war and economic turbulence.”