Ioannis Kasinopoulos and his friend Yiannis Zambas set up Electryone AI in 2023 with a “strong belief and no outside financing.” The belief was in their software, which uses artificial intelligence to make batteries that store renewable energy more efficient and profitable. They also believed in the importance of the transition to a clean, green economy. Without external funding, however, belief could only get them so far.
The two young Cypriots, who had previously been at Meta, McKinsey and Palantir, worked hard to find pre-seed financing and some angel investors from their bases in London and Spain, including Genesis Ventures, a Greek venture capital firm backed by the European Investment Fund. Then they got an unexpected surprise—venture capital financing from their home island, where support for startups has been limited. 33East Venture Capital, a Nicosia-based venture capital fund supported by the Cyprus Equity Fund, started making investments from its €26 million fund this year, and it backed Electryone AI with €400 000 in January.
https://www.eib.org/en/stories/cyprus-venture-capital-tech-startup