Ihar Mahaniok founded Geek Ventures in 2021 after observing challenges immigrant entrepreneurs faced raising capital and making connections in the U.S. venture-capital ecosystem. Before founding Geek Ventures, Mahaniok invested as an angel in Instacart, PandaDoc, People.ai, Airbyte, and Jeeves.
Reliable Robotics secures **$115M** in Series D funding, pushing its valuation past **$1B**, to advance **FAA certification** for its autonomous flight systems. The Mountain View startup, co-founded by SpaceX veterans Robert Rose (CEO) and Juerg Frefel (CTO), targets **four key certifications**: a **continuous autopilot** for engine startup, taxi, takeoff, and landing (expected in **18–24 months**); **pilot-remote operations** (3+ years out); a **solid-state collision-avoidance radar** (certification by **end-2027**); and its own **Reliable Airlines**, using six Cessna Caravans for cargo flights. Investors include Nimble Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, and RockCreek. The system is designed for **retrofit on existing aircraft**, aiming to disrupt commercial aviation like autonomous vehicles did for cars.
Oct 2026TechCrunchNews article
Geek Ventures
NYC-based tech venture fund focused on investing in innovative tech startups by immigrant founders.