Co-founder and Managing Partner of international venture fund Almaz Capital; Dr. Alexander Galitsky, a real force to be reckoned with in the startup/investor world. A renowned scientist, Mr. Galitsky holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in physics. in the field of computer science. Before turning into an entrepreneur, he served as one of the key executives in the Soviet Space Agency and defense industry, and currently holds more than 30 invention patents.
Alexander the visionary
Born in 1955 and raised in a small village in the Zhytomyr region of northwest Ukraine, technology pioneer Alexander Galitsky became interested in space and technology at an early age. After graduating from high school with honors, he studied physics at the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology (MIET).
His continued interest in physics led him to the Zelenograd Institute of Microdevice Science (NIIMP). From there, Alexander partnered with Sun Microsystems and became a Wi-Fi pioneer, working on product development and designing many technological inventions. He also served as Chairman of East Europe Tech Tours in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
Best known as a visionary innovator in the technology industry, Alexander “Sasha” Galitsky founded and served as CEO of five high-tech companies in the 2000s: ELVIS+ TrustWorks Systems, EzWIM, NPC ELVIS, and ELVIS Telecom. Sasha’s reputation as a passionate entrepreneur soared as his start-up companies were acquired by larger companies such as Hansard Global (TrustWorks Systems), Telenor (ELVIS Telecom), and TMT Ventures (EzWIM).
Past and current investments include NavMaps (sold to TeleAtlas), Start Telecom, Acronis, Magnifire (sold to F5), SJLabs (sold to MagicJack) (Vocaltech), PGP (sold to Symantec), Parallels (sold to Corel) , includes EverNote (sold). Bending Spoons), ClickHouse, ShapesXR, Element Energy, etc.. Alexander’s ability to identify the right companies at the right time is unparalleled and is just one of the factors that will determine the success of his Almaz Capital.
From science to Almaz capital
Alexander Galitsky co-founded Almaz Capital in 2008. Mr. Galitsky serves in a variety of roles, including managing the company and his partner. His responsibilities include fundraising, investor relations, and management. Almaz Capital is an international venture fund focused on early-stage, high-growth capital technology companies, with principal offices in both the United States and Germany (Silicon Valley and Berlin).
Almaz Capital’s notable investors include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the European Investment Fund, and Cisco. One of his main goals for Almaz Capital in its early days was to use its investments to channel resources from Silicon Valley to portfolio companies in newly independent countries of the former Soviet Union, and later to startups in Eastern and Central Europe. It was about building a bridge. At that time, many of his CEE startups were offered to US investors, including QIK and Yandex. QIK was acquired by Skype, and Yandex went to his IPO NASDAQ.
Mr. Galitsky has a proven track record of identifying companies with high potential for financial growth.
Notable contributions and recognition
Throughout his international career, Alexander has continually received recognition and accolades for his many contributions. Prior to launching Almaz Capital in 2000, Alexander was internationally recognized as a technology pioneer at the World Economic Forum. In 2012, Mr. Galitsky was nominated for Venture Capitalist of the Decade in Europe. In Russia in 2013 he received the EY Entrepreneur International Award (Entrepreneur of the Year).
Dr. Galitsky uses Acumatica, Parallels, Jelastic, PetCube, PGP Inc.Acronis etc. In addition to his duties at Almaz Capital, Alexander: B612 Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing technology and tools to better understand our solar system. He also serves on the board of his Virtuozzo.in his own wordsAlexander’s current interests focus on “great, slightly eccentric founders working on cutting-edge technology.”
