Ruvento Ventures has launched Ruvento SEED, an early-stage investment vehicle targeting pre-seed and seed-stage deep-tech companies in Southeast Asia that solve fundamental problems regardless of whether they fit current AI funding narratives.
The announcement comes as AI startups claim over 52% of all venture capital deployed globally, leaving non-AI deep-tech companies struggling for attention despite solving critical challenges in clean robotics, industrial IoT, and sustainable manufacturing.
“The AI funding frenzy actively destroys innovation in critical sectors,” said Romanos Vetridis, Partner at Ruvento Ventures. “We built Ruvento SEED to fund technologies solving real problems—clean robotics enabling sustainable manufacturing, IoT infrastructure optimizing resources, autonomous systems improving safety. These incorporate AI as infrastructure, but they’re defined by the problems they solve, not the keywords in their pitch decks.”
Ruvento SEED combines early-stage capital with operational expertise and cross-border infrastructure. Portfolio companies gain immediate access to Ruvento’s recently launched Asia-Europe collaboration initiative, which connects research institutions, talent networks, and commercial partners across continents.
The fund follows Vetridis’s problem-first investment philosophy, which has driven portfolio success from Y Combinator startups to billion-dollar companies including Solugen and Boom Supersonic. Rather than waiting for founders to de-risk technology and prove market fit, Ruvento SEED invests when founders need more than just capital—at the most vulnerable stage of company building.
“Deep-tech companies typically require 7-10 years to reach maturity,” Vetridis explained. “Most venture firms can’t stomach that timeline. We provide patient capital and hands-on support from former founders who’ve built and scaled complex technologies ourselves.”
The initiative addresses a growing market dysfunction: according to EY analysis, AI companies drove over 70% of all VC activity in Q1 2025, while non-AI deep-tech startups face the lowest funding environment in years despite solving problems with measurable economic and environmental impact.
Ruvento SEED portfolio companies receive direct access to specialists in R&D, product engineering, and launch marketing, plus connections to Ruvento’s global network spanning Silicon Valley, Europe, and Asia.
For more information about Ruvento SEED and investment criteria, visit [www.ruvento.com](https://www.ruvento.com/) or [romanosvetridis.com](https://romanosvetridis.com/).
