Funds under operational management
Photon serves as the operating partner of venture funds in partnership with leading Uzbek banks.
Hayot Ventures
A venture fund in partnership with Hayot Bank. Focused on technology for retail banking and consumer financial products.
Request Fund InfoUC Ventures
Photon's first operational mandate (2023-2025). We are supporting the portfolio companies through their exit cycles expected in the next 1-2 years.
Request Fund InfoPhoton provided services to SQB Ventures in 2025–2026. The cooperation ended in June 2026.
Operating partner of the funds
Photon serves as the operating partner of the funds. We run the full operational cycle: startup sourcing, due diligence, deal negotiations, portfolio support and exit assistance.
Investment decisions are made by each fund's Investment Committee and/or Supervisory Board. Photon staff are not members of these bodies - this ensures the independence of investment decisions and a clear separation of operational and fiduciary responsibility.
Investors (Limited Partners) participate in the funds as financial partners with clearly defined rights, share and exit horizon.
- Transparent fund governance structure
- Regular reporting for LP investors
- Active mentorship of portfolio companies
- Partner ecosystem access for startups
Operational management: what it is and how it differs
Photon runs operational management of the funds but is not a management company in the sense of trust management of assets. This is a fundamental distinction - we explain it below.
Trust management
- Who decides: the management company makes investment decisions on its own
- Legally: requires a specific license for trust management of assets
- Liability: fiduciary responsibility for investor capital sits with the management company
- Regulation: operations are regulated by specialised trust management legislation
Operational management
- Who decides: each fund's Investment Committee and/or Supervisory Board - Photon staff are not members of these bodies
- Legally: does not require a trust management license, operates under a regular service agreement with the fund
- Liability: Photon holds operational responsibility for the quality of selection and processes, fiduciary decisions sit with fund governance bodies
- Regulation: complies with regulatory requirements without the need for special licensing
What Photon does
- Sourcing and scouting startups
- Hypothesis scoring via the Innovation Framework
- Due diligence and analytical preparation
- Deal negotiations and structuring
- Portfolio company support
- Exit support
- Reporting to LPs and fund governance bodies
What the Investment Committee / Supervisory Board does
- Makes final investment decisions
- Approves deal terms (term sheets)
- Approves follow-on investments
- Approves strategic portfolio exits
- Approves changes to the fund's investment strategy
- Ensures compliance with the fund mandate
Why this matters: this model ensures the independence of investment decisions, separates operational from fiduciary responsibility, and allows us to operate within the framework of current legislation without requiring a license for trust management of assets.
Interested in investing?
Contact us to learn about the terms of participation in active funds operated by Photon.