Mento VC

Mento VC is an institutional venture capital firm founded in 2023 and based in Wilmington, Delaware, investing in startups driving the future of work, automation, AI, and productivity. Founder and General Partner Alex Zhuravlev brings 14 years in technology and 8 years in venture capital, most recently as Portfolio Director at AltaIR Capital ($600 million AUM) where he oversaw more than 350 startups and supported 10 unicorns and 2 decacorns. Ekaterina serves as COO managing investor relations, capital calls, and founder support. Mento invests at pre-seed and seed stages with check sizes typically between $100,000 and $1 million, targeting teams from the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel building productivity tools, future-of-work platforms, B2B SaaS enterprise software, fintech, and HRTech. Across approximately 25 investments, the firm has built a portfolio of AI-driven companies that includes Artisan AI (digital workers for sales automation), Eragon AI ($8 million seed, December 2025 — AI operating system for enterprise), Leo AI ($5 million seed, September 2025 — AI copilot for mechanical engineering), Final Round AI (interview preparation), Clerk Chat (business text messaging), Openlayer ($14.5 million Series A, May 2025 — automated testing), sync.so, Tella, Phia, Alma, AvatarOS, Mirai Tech, and Rork (software development, April 2026). Mento's investment pace is notably active for a fund launched in 2023, reflecting Zhuravlev's thesis that the current AI cycle is producing durable productivity companies at an accelerated rate. The firm's focus on the intersection of AI, automation, and enterprise workflows across US, Israeli, and European founding teams positions it to source deals across the most active clusters of AI talent globally.