Roman Smolevskiy
About Roman Smolevskiy
Roman Smolevskiy is based in Menlo Park, California. He is a co-founder of BuildTech VC, and his BuildTech partner page describes him as a 3x founder and PropTech and real estate investor who was ranked #25 on the Inc. 5000 list for California. His LinkedIn profile says he has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. It lists a California real estate broker license issued in April 2020 and a general contractor license.
Before investing full time he ran operating companies. Crunchbase lists him as the founder of Akvapoint. A LinkedIn post of his describes him as founder and CEO of SolveIt, a company that builds technology for startups and small and medium businesses. Third-party contact databases also list him as founder of Advanced Construction Pro and A+ Construction & Remodeling. Those listings come from aggregators, not from his own pages.
In 2023 he completed the Venture Capital Executive Leadership programme at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, according to his LinkedIn post. He has no companies founded or exits recorded in the Lounge data.
The Lounge record, based on Crunchbase, shows 59 investments, 0 lead investments, 0 exits and 0 companies founded. Crunchbase's public profile has since shown a higher count of 74 investments across 72 portfolio companies, with a Cuby Technologies venture round as the latest. Counts differ by snapshot, so treat them as approximate.
Lenny Rachitsky's newsletter, using Crunchbase data, ranked him number 8 among the most active US angel investors in 2024. It noted that he invests in PropTech, ConTech and RealTech and holds positions in SpaceX, Neuralink and xAI. Crunchbase records a Neuralink secondary market transaction on June 5, 2023.
Third-party investor database Shizune estimates he is a follower rather than a lead: 2% lead and 98% follow. Crunchbase shows no lead rounds. He often appears alongside other investors. Crunchbase shows Candor (March 2025) with Y Combinator, HOMLI (May 2024) with Unpopular Ventures, and Autify Network (May 2024).
Crunchbase shows 20 AI investments since 2023. The AI portfolio includes Silurian AI, Roundabout Technologies, Sameday, Somatic, Neuralink, Forsight, Candor, AI Clearing, Jome, Plunk, Limitless AI (formerly Rewind AI) and Kaya Pay.
The AI companies are mixed. Some are applied AI products for specific industries, such as Sameday, a virtual sales program for home service providers, and AI Clearing, which is also in his portfolio. Others are deeper technology companies such as Neuralink. Shizune lists artificial intelligence alongside real estate and software as his industries. His own public statements frame his focus as construction and real estate technology, so AI founders with a built-environment, home services or operations angle may be the closest fit.
Stage: Shizune lists seed, angel and pre-seed. Sameday is listed on Crunchbase as pre-seed.
Sectors: PropTech, ConTech and RealTech (his own description, per Lenny's newsletter), plus software and artificial intelligence. Third-party data lists United States, Singapore and Canada as geographies.
Check size: He has not published a check size. Shizune lists typical round sizes of $500k to $2.8M for pre-seed and $1.9M to $7.5M for seed. These are estimates of the rounds he joins, not his own check. One directory shows a $1M ticket, but it is unsourced, so treat it with caution.
He has not published a statement on what he looks for in a pitch. BuildTech VC's own site is the best place to see how he describes his thesis.
- Neuralink: brain-computer interface company. Crunchbase records his secondary market investment on June 5, 2023.
- SpaceX and xAI: named by Lenny's newsletter as Musk-related holdings. Round details are not public.
- Silurian AI: AI company listed in his Crunchbase AI portfolio.
- Sameday: virtual sales program for home service providers, based in Lindon, Utah, listed as pre-seed.
- Candor: AI portfolio company. Crunchbase shows a March 2025 round with Y Combinator.
- AI Clearing: AI company in his portfolio, with 8 investors on Crunchbase including Inovo.vc.
- Cuby Technologies: Crunchbase shows his investment in a venture round in August 2025, his most recent on the public profile.
- Limitless AI (formerly Rewind AI), Somatic, Roundabout Technologies, Forsight, Jome, Plunk and Kaya Pay: other AI portfolio companies listed by Crunchbase.
- crunchbase.com/person/roman-smolevskiy-7281
- crunchbase.com/person/roman-smolevskiy-7281/person_overview_investor/t
- crunchbase.com/funding_round/neuralink-secondary-market--51cfdf7a
- crunchbase.com/organization/sameday-5a11
- crunchbase.com/organization/ai-clearing/financial_details
- crunchbase.com/organization/cuby-technologies-inc/financial_details
- linkedin.com/in/romansml
- linkedin.com/posts/romansml_venture-capital-executive-leadership-roman
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Roman Smolevskiy has made 59 investments according to Crunchbase. 20 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including Silurian AI, Roundabout Technologies, Sameday, Somatic and Neuralink.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Roman Smolevskiy
Does Roman Smolevskiy invest in AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase shows 20 AI investments since 2023, including Silurian AI, Sameday, Candor, AI Clearing and Limitless AI. His longer-running focus is PropTech, ConTech and RealTech.
What is Roman Smolevskiy's check size?
He has not published one. Third-party data estimates the rounds he joins at $500k to $2.8M for pre-seed and $1.9M to $7.5M for seed, but those are round sizes, not his check.
What stage does Roman Smolevskiy invest in?
Third-party data lists pre-seed, angel and seed. Crunchbase shows no lead rounds, so he typically joins rounds led by others.
Who is Roman Smolevskiy?
He is an angel investor and co-founder of BuildTech VC, based in Menlo Park. He has more than 20 years in construction and has founded companies including Akvapoint.
How can founders contact Roman Smolevskiy?
His public profiles are LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/romansml and X at x.com/smlroman. He is also listed as a partner on the BuildTech VC website.
Has Roman Smolevskiy invested in Elon Musk's companies?
Lenny's newsletter lists him as an investor in SpaceX, Neuralink and xAI. Crunchbase records a Neuralink secondary market transaction on June 5, 2023.
Is Roman Smolevskiy an angel investor?
Yes. Roman Smolevskiy invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 59 investments.
What AI companies has Roman Smolevskiy invested in?
Roman Smolevskiy's AI investments include Silurian AI, Roundabout Technologies, Sameday, Somatic, Neuralink, Forsight, Candor and AI Clearing.
Where is Roman Smolevskiy based?
Roman Smolevskiy is based in Menlo Park, United States.
How can founders reach Roman Smolevskiy?
Founders on Lounge can see Roman Smolevskiy's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Roman Smolevskiy to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.