Yury Melnichek’s journey begins under the pale light of a Belarusian winter, in a small apartment in Minsk where his earliest memories are of spinning through computer code rather than playground swings. Born in 1983, he would go on to study applied mathematics and informatics at Belarusian State University, graduating in 2005 with honors—and an insatiable curiosity about how software could reshape human experiences. Even then, he sensed that maps, video, and intelligence would be the frontiers of the coming decade.
After graduation, Melnichek spent over sixteen years in Switzerland, working as a software engineer and absorbing the nuances of global tech hubs. But in 2010, he and two university friends—Alexander Borsuk and Victor Govako—yearned to solve a simple yet pervasive problem: how to navigate when you’re offline. Smartphones were proliferating, but data roaming charges and patchy connectivity made digital maps unreliable. Their answer was MapsWithMe, an app that packaged OpenStreetMap data into a light, downloadable bundle. Released on iOS in April 2011, the app let travelers from Tokyo to Timbuktu roam without fear of lost signals or runaway data bills.
In its first year, MapsWithMe won a startup prize in Vilnius that led to a Silicon Valley fellowship. By mid-2012, the Android version had launched; by 2014, MapsWithMe had rebranded as MAPS.ME and racked up over seven million downloads. Mail.Ru Group saw an opportunity to marry offline navigation with its growing portfolio of mobile services and acquired the company in November 2014. Under Mail.Ru’s umbrella, MAPS.ME remained an independent brand—and continued to innovate, adding walking and transit routes, points of interest, and Wikipedia integration—ensuring that Melnichek’s vision of frictionless exploration endured.
Freeing the world from connectivity constraints was only the beginning. In April 2016, Melnichek returned to his Belarusian roots by founding AIMATTER, a neural-network platform capable of processing images in real time on a smartphone. Its flagship proof of concept was Fabby, an app that let users apply makeup filters and background effects to selfies and videos. As word spread—and screenshots flooded social feeds—the startup attracted the attention of Silicon Valley giants. On August 16, 2017, Google quietly acquired AIMATTER, snapping up both its SDK and its engineering talent to bolster Android’s computer-vision toolkit.
Rather than rest on these achievements, Melnichek turned to investing in others. In March 2018, he teamed with Andrei Avsievich to launch Bulba Ventures, a Belarus-based fund focused on machine-learning ventures in agriculture, healthcare, and the real economy. Their thesis: applied AI could transform industries beyond advertising and social media—if founders had the right mix of technical mentorship and capital. Bulba backed startups from precision-farming platforms in Minsk to biotech innovators in Zurich, forging a cross-border network of AI pioneers.
Then, in 2019, Melnichek reunited his entrepreneurial and investment instincts by co-founding Vochi, an app that layered computer-vision effects onto video in real time. Vochi’s algorithm could isolate objects frame by frame—letting users add 3D animations to a moving skateboarder or highlight a dancing dog amid a busy background. It was a natural evolution of his passion for putting powerful tech into the hands of creatives. Within two years, Vochi had attracted over 500,000 monthly users and raised a seed round from leading Eastern European investors.
On December 6, 2021, Pinterest confirmed its acquisition of Vochi, integrating the startup’s IP and its 40-person team into the social network’s burgeoning creator division. The deal—terms undisclosed—underscored Melnichek’s knack for building companies that solve real user needs at scale. “We’re excited to work with Vochi’s talented team to bring more video creation tools to our 400 million Pinners,” Pinterest’s Head of Creator Engineering declared.
With exits under his belt and two successful startups behind him, Melnichek formalized his role as an investor by founding Melnichek Investments in December 2021. Based in Cyprus, the firm deploys both his personal capital and third-party funds into early-stage AI and biotech companies—mirroring his own startup path from code to acquisition. Its portfolio spans everything from on-device machine-vision SDKs to lab-grown meat innovators, unified by the conviction that technology can enhance—and not replace—human capabilities.
Yet investments alone don’t define his legacy. Melnichek remains a fixture at tech conferences—from Minsk’s yearly hackathons to Limassol’s startup festivals—mentoring founders and championing open-source collaboration. He partners with the DOBRA Foundation and the Open Data Science Belarus community, believing that knowledge should flow freely, not sit behind paywalls or corporate silos. When asked why he founded not one but three ventures in less than a decade, he smiles: “I’m addicted to the moment when an idea hits code and becomes something people use.” The next chapters of his story are already unfolding—in VR mapping experiments, in AI-driven health diagnostics, and in startups yet unnamed. But through every pivot and every prize, one thread holds: a commitment to building tools that empower the end user, wherever they may roam.
