Geek Ventures, a fund that specializes in backing immigrant founders, is raising a second fund

Geek Ventures is raising a Fund II, according to a recent SEC filing. 

The firm, founded in 2021 by Ihar Mahaniok, focuses on investing in early-stage immigrant founders. Mahaniok immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus and spoke to TechCrunch a few years ago about how hard the venture ecosystem can be for immigrants. 

“Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not,” he told us at the time. 

So he launched Geek Ventures and raised a $23 million debut fund. It joined a few other notable venture firms that have launched to target immigrants, including Unshackled Ventures and One Way Ventures. 

Geek Ventures focuses on SaaS, hardware, and deep tech. It has cut checks into companies like the AI developer Spice AI and the networking platform Saturday, according to PitchBook, which also states the firm has made more than 60 investments to date. 

Fund II has no target amount but has so far raised $9 million, according to the filing, with its first sale registered as being Monday, January 13. 

Ihar Mahaniok declined to comment.

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