Greg Tkachenko
About Greg Tkachenko
Greg Tkachenko co-founded AI Factory in 2018 with Alex Mashrabov. Crunchbase describes it as a mobile computer vision and AR startup focused on image and video analysis. Snapchat acquired the company in 2020. A talk listing for AI9 Startup Campus in Yerevan gives the price as $166M. That figure comes from the event description, not from a primary announcement.
Before that, according to Ukrainian outlet AIN, he worked at Yandex for two years from 2013. In 2016 and 2017 he lectured at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and Forbes Russia nominated him for its 30 under 30 list. Crunchbase lists him as Head of Cameos Engineering at Snap and places him in London.
The AI9 event listing also describes him as the founder of Unreal Labs, a part-time partner at s16vc and a scout for Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). TechCrunch refers to him as the founder of Unreal Labs and ex-Snap.
Crunchbase lists three personal investments: GRAI (seed), Era AI (pre-seed) and Yope (seed). PitchBook classes him as an individual angel investor based in Vancouver and records one deal, Yope on 24 February 2025. The two profiles differ on location, and PitchBook's count is lower than Crunchbase's.
In Yope's $4.65M seed round, announced in February 2025, he was one of several named angels. Goodwater Capital and Inovo VC co-led that round.
GRAI is an AI music company. TechCrunch reported its $9M seed round in April 2026. Khosla Ventures led the round and Inovo.vc co-led it. Tkachenko took part as an angel alongside Andrew Zhai, Rob Reid and Dima Shvets. In the same round, a16z Scout Fund, Tensor Ventures and Flyer One Ventures also took part.
Crunchbase also lists a pre-seed investment in Era AI. The date and amount are not visible in the public view.
He has not published a thesis, a check size or a list of target stages. His known deals are early-stage, at pre-seed and seed. They are consumer-facing AI and social products, including AI music (GRAI) and a social photo app (Yope). Crunchbase lists his investor type and stage as hidden, so founders should not assume a fixed range.
- GRAI: AI music company; he joined its $9M seed round as an angel, reported April 2026.
- Yope: social photo-sharing app; he was an angel in its $4.65M seed round, February 2025.
- Era AI: listed on Crunchbase as a pre-seed investment; the date is not public.
- AI Factory: the computer vision startup he co-founded in 2018, acquired by Snapchat in 2020.
- crunchbase.com/person/gregory-tkachenko
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/753093-28
- techcrunch.com/2026/04/21/grai-believes-ai-can-make-music-more-social-
- en.ain.ua/2025/02/25/yope-raises-4-65-million
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YOPE
- luma.com/b1xgguly
- crunchbase.com/organization/aifactory
- tracxn.com/d/people/greg-tkachenko/__UsmvqDVjv0PhiH-wSNO5_FJ6VEmfmfwDO
Investing activity
Greg Tkachenko appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $9M. The most recent is GRAI (Seed, $9M, Oct 2026).
Greg Tkachenko most often invests alongside Rob Reid, Andrew Zhai, a16z Scout Fund and Dima Shvets, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Greg Tkachenko
Who is Greg Tkachenko?
He is a London-based angel investor and former founder. He co-founded AI Factory, which Snapchat acquired in 2020, and later worked at Snap. He also founded Unreal Labs.
Has Greg Tkachenko invested in AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase lists GRAI (seed), Era AI (pre-seed) and Yope (seed). He was one of the angels in GRAI's $9M seed round, which TechCrunch reported in April 2026.
What is Greg Tkachenko's check size?
No check size is public. Founders should ask him directly rather than rely on third-party estimates.
What stage does Greg Tkachenko invest in?
His documented deals are pre-seed and seed. He has not published a stage preference.
Does Greg Tkachenko lead rounds?
In the public record he joined rounds led by others. Khosla Ventures led the GRAI round, and Goodwater Capital and Inovo VC co-led Yope's.
How can founders contact Greg Tkachenko?
His LinkedIn profile is linkedin.com/in/grtkachenko. No personal website or X account was found.
Is Greg Tkachenko an angel investor?
Yes. Greg Tkachenko invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Greg Tkachenko invested in?
Greg Tkachenko's AI investments include GRAI. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Greg Tkachenko invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Greg Tkachenko has invested at Seed, with a median round of $9M. Greg Tkachenko led 1 of those rounds.
Who does Greg Tkachenko co-invest with?
Greg Tkachenko's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Rob Reid (1 deal), Andrew Zhai (1 deal), a16z Scout Fund (1 deal), Dima Shvets (1 deal) and Flyer One Ventures (1 deal).