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§ Private Profile · Wilmington, DE, USA
ZELF is a technology company.
ZELF operates as a neobank integrated directly into social messaging platforms, offering a suite of financial services designed for the digital native. The company’s core product allows users to manage funds, make payments, and engage in transactions within their preferred social ecosystems, including buying and selling digital assets like game loot and NFTs. This approach bypasses traditional banking infrastructure, providing accounts accessible without physical branches or dedicated banking applications, initially supporting an anonymous Visa debit card with cryptocurrency top-up capabilities.
The company was founded in 2019 by Elliot Goykhman, alongside Videh S and Tatiana M. Goykhman, serving as CEO, leveraged his extensive background in the banking sector to identify a critical gap in financial services for younger demographics. The founding insight centered on the need for a frictionless, embedded banking experience that aligns with the digital habits of Gen Z, moving financial interactions into the social and metaverse spaces where these users already spend their time.
ZELF targets a user base primarily consisting of Gen Z individuals, gamers, and content creators who seek banking solutions tailored to their online lifestyles. The company’s long-term vision is to democratize financial services globally, aiming to evolve into an AI-powered financial assistant. ZELF seeks to empower its users by making financial tools inherently part of their digital social fabric, ensuring accessibility and relevance in a rapidly evolving digital economy.
ZELF has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
ZELF has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
ZELF has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in February 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2021 | $2M Seed | 3VC | Bling Capital, Outrun Ventures, Webtalk LTD, Chris Adelsbach, Yair Goldfinger, Hard Yaka, Jiri Havran | Announced |
# ZELF: A Technology Company Overview
There are actually two distinct companies named ZELF in the search results, representing different technology sectors and business models. This overview addresses both to provide complete clarity.
Zelf AI (current operating company) is a consumer insights and analytics platform that leverages artificial intelligence and video search to extract actionable market intelligence from social media content, particularly TikTok[3][4]. The company transforms over 200 million social videos into real-time consumer insights for brands across operations, marketing, and R&D functions[3].
ZELF (the neobank) was a messenger-based financial technology company that operated from 2019 to December 2022[2]. It positioned itself as a "Bank of the Metaverse," allowing users to open bank accounts directly within messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, and Discord, with features including money transfers, invoicing, and voice-command banking[2].
Zelf AI is led by CEO and co-founder Pepijn van Kesteren[4]. The company emerged as social media—particularly TikTok—became the dominant platform for organic consumer expression, creating demand for real-time insights extracted from video content rather than traditional surveys and annual market reports[3][4].
ZELF (neobank) was founded in 2017 and launched in 2019 during the peak of the digital banking and crypto boom[2]. The company targeted millennial and Gen Z users in the EU and US, positioning itself around emerging trends like NFTs, gaming coins, and anonymous financial services[2]. However, the company faced regulatory challenges and closed in December 2022 after its banking partner, Evolve Bank & Trust, withdrew support just 1.5 days after launch due to KYC (Know Your Customer) and Patriot Act violations[2].
Zelf AI operates at the intersection of video-first internet adoption and AI-driven business intelligence. As organic, user-generated content increasingly dominates how consumers discover and share information, traditional market research methods—surveys, focus groups, annual reports—have become outdated[3]. Zelf capitalizes on this shift by automating the extraction of insights from the massive volume of social video content that already exists, positioning itself as essential infrastructure for brands navigating a video-dominant media landscape[4].
The company's work with major brands like Macy's, Fenty Beauty, and K18 demonstrates how AI-powered social listening has become a core operational tool rather than a peripheral marketing function[3].
Zelf AI represents a broader trend: AI-powered automation of knowledge work. As video content continues to dominate social platforms and consumer behavior becomes increasingly visible through organic posts, the ability to synthesize that data into actionable intelligence at scale becomes a competitive advantage. The company's positioning—offering "McKinsey on steroids" insights at a fraction of traditional consulting costs—suggests significant runway in a market where real-time consumer understanding drives business outcomes[3].
The contrast with the failed ZELF neobank serves as a cautionary reminder: even well-timed fintech ideas can collapse when regulatory compliance is overlooked. Zelf AI's focus on a narrower, less regulated domain (analytics rather than financial services) positions it more sustainably within the current regulatory environment.
ZELF has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
ZELF's investors include 3VC, Bling Capital, Outrun Ventures, Webtalk Ltd, Chris Adelsbach, Yair Goldfinger, Hard Yaka, Jiri Havran.