Serial entrepreneur Volodymyr Panchenko has secured an additional $5 million in funding for his startup Portal.AI, which has recently undergone a major pivot. As reported by Forbes, the company relaunched in January 2025 with a new business model: it is now positioning itself as an AI-driven social media platform. The identities of the investors have not been disclosed, and the funding was confirmed directly by Panchenko.

A quick recap

• Originally launched in June 2024, Portal.AI began as a tool for marketing automation powered by artificial intelligence. The startup initially raised $5 million at a $50 million valuation through a series of $500K angel checks under SAFE agreements. Early backers included Western funds like StratMinds VC, AGI House Ventures, and BBQ Capital; individual investors such as Rocky Yu, Nemke Kostic; as well as the Patel and Amanda Schloss family offices, Broocknell Ventures, and others.
• Panchenko says more than 500 companies tested the original product. «The results surpassed the efficiency of traditional advertising agencies,» he claimed.
• However, in January 2025, Portal.AI shifted focus dramatically. Now, it’s a consumer-facing platform where AI generates videos on demand. The target audience has expanded from businesses to everyday users and content creators.

• Portal.AI is Panchenko’s fourth company. His previous businesses include Suntechsoft, a computer game reseller; Skins.Cash, a platform for trading in-game skins; and DMarket, a marketplace for virtual gaming items.

How it works after the pivot

• The revamped Portal.AI allows users to input or dictate an idea or story. The platform’s AI selects the optimal script, visual style, soundtrack, and presentation before automatically publishing the video. According to Panchenko, the idea was born from the challenge of expressing complex concepts in simple, accessible ways.

• Users can also respond to other people’s content in video format. The AI generates these response videos based on user input. «When generating a video, the algorithm finds a group of people with similar interests,» says Panchenko, who envisions the platform as a new kind of social media — one built around shared ideas and creativity.
• While the product has changed, the technical core remains intact. Portal.AI runs on an orchestrator of 23 AI models, including Google, Runway, and Sora technologies. The system selects the best-performing model for each specific task.
• The platform currently has several thousand users testing the new version, according to Panchenko.
• For now, Portal.AI isn’t monetized. «Any monetization will slow down growth,» Panchenko explained.