Revolut Founder's AI Bet Just Raised Half a Billion Dollars

Jan de Vries · 2026-08-18

So, you know Nik Storonsky, right? He's the guy who co-founded Revolut, that huge FinTech company. Well, he also co-founded a London-based VC firm called QuantumLight back in 2023. They just closed their second fund, and get this: they raised $500 million! That's a massive jump, doubling the size of their first fund. ### The AI-Driven Approach to Investing QuantumLight is all about a data-driven approach to investing in tech companies. Their CEO, Ilya Kondrashov, mentioned that they actually blew past their original target and were oversubscribed. That's a pretty strong vote of confidence, wouldn't you say? This latest raise comes about 15 months after they secured $240 million for their first fund in May 2025. It really shows how quickly they're growing and how much interest there is in their unique strategy. To give you some perspective, other similar funds have also seen significant closes recently. We're talking about a lot of capital flowing into venture. Just consider these examples: - London-based Transition Ventures’ $138 million Fund II - Berlin-based Merantix Capital’s $111 million AI Fund - Amsterdam-based DFF Ventures’ $75 million Fund III - Antwerp-based Pitchdrive’s $65 million Fund IV - UK-based Creator Fund’s $52.5 million vehicle - London-based Passion Capital’s $49.5 million fourth Seed fund - Munich-based Vanagon Ventures’ $21.5 million Fund I When you add QuantumLight's latest fund to these, you're looking at approximately $978 million in disclosed capital. It really paints a picture of a vibrant, growing investment landscape, especially in the UK with Transition Ventures, Creator Fund, and Passion Capital leading the way. ### Beyond Traditional VC Methods QuantumLight isn't just throwing money around; they're investing globally across various sectors. Think AI, FinTech, SaaS, HealthTech, and DeepTech – basically, all the cutting-edge stuff. What makes them stand out is how they do it. Instead of relying mainly on the old-school, partner-led model for finding and evaluating investments, they use something called Aleph. This is their own proprietary AI system. It's designed to analyze potential opportunities and help with investment decisions, keeping human involvement pretty limited. Imagine having an AI that can screen companies at scale and use quantitative signals to spot potential winners. It's like applying a systematic investing approach, which you usually see in other markets, directly to venture capital. This strategy totally aligns with Storonsky's overall philosophy of making decisions based on data. It's the same kind of thinking that was crucial in building Revolut into what it is today. It makes sense, right? If data works for banking, why not for venture capital? QuantumLight has already backed 27 companies, and five of them have even reached that coveted unicorn status. That's pretty impressive! Their portfolio includes some interesting names like AI infrastructure company Together AI, health platform Function Health, and legal tech startup Robin AI. They're definitely picking some diverse and promising ventures. ### The Future of Algorithmic Investing This new fund, with its significant increase in capital, comes before we can even fully measure the results of their first vehicle. The fact that it was oversubscribed tells you that investors are willing to bet on Storonsky's track record and QuantumLight's belief that technology can play a much bigger role in finding those promising companies. Storonsky, as you probably know, is best known as the co-founder and CEO of Revolut. He launched it in 2015 with Vlad Yatsenko, and it's become one of Europe's top private tech companies, offering everything from banking to investments. QuantumLight is a separate venture for him, but it clearly uses a similar tech-focused approach to allocating capital. So, the big question QuantumLight is trying to answer is this: Can systematic analysis consistently identify high-growth companies? This industry has traditionally been all about personal networks, founder relationships, and investor intuition. It's a bold move, and it'll be fascinating to see how it plays out. While other venture firms are starting to use AI and machine learning for sourcing and due diligence, QuantumLight has really put technology at the heart of its investment strategy. It's a central pillar for them. The performance of Aleph and their current portfolio will take time to fully assess, but this latest close gives QuantumLight a lot more resources to test whether an algorithmic approach can truly compete with, or even outperform, those more traditional VC models.