Stani Kulechov

Stani Kulechov is an active early-stage investor and the founder of Aave, currently based in London, England. After studying mathematics and computer science, he established Aave, originally known as ETHLend, in 2017, successfully growing the decentralized finance lending protocol to manage over $10 billion in total value locked by late 2024. Beyond his primary venture, Kulechov has built a personal investment portfolio consisting of more than 20 early-stage startups, and he frequently collaborates with major blockchain ecosystems like Ethereum, Polygon, Chainlink, and Balancer. As a prominent Web3 developer, he recently oversaw the launch of the Aave V4 protocol upgrade in early 2025 and spoke on network scalability at the global Devcon 2024 conference. His current professional focus remains on scaling decentralized financial infrastructure while actively funding early-stage fintech, artificial intelligence, and Web3 technology ventures.