By: Michael R.
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – In a testament to global innovation and cross-border impact, Ulvi Rashid, an Azerbaijani-American venture capitalist and strategic finance executive, was awarded the 2025 Baku ID Nexus Award for “Building the U.S.–Azerbaijan Innovation Bridge.”
The award was presented in person during his visit to Azerbaijan at Angel Investment Network’s annual gathering in Baku. It was co-organized by Baku ID and sponsored by Scale AI and TEVCA (Transcaucasus–Eastern Venture Capital Association), the region’s premier cross-border venture capital platform.
Backing Founders & Bridging Ecosystems
Ulvi Rashid is Founder and the Finance & Investment Director of Traction Fund, a U.S.-based venture capital firm that invests in cutting-edge enterprise AI and software companies, with a unique model: before deploying capital, Traction Fund consults its executive network—known as Traction Club—to validate product-market fit. Executives at Fortune 500 and global enterprises vet the solution and, if it meets real enterprise needs, Traction Fund may back the startup, syndicating funds from its network of global family offices and investing. This flips the traditional VC model—de-risking the investment before investment while accelerating revenue for founders and giving confidence to corporate executives in the financial sustainability of emerging vendors.
“With Traction Fund, we flipped the model,” Ulvi explains. “Before we invest, we ask our executive network if they like the company as customers. If they do, founders start landing clients during diligence, and we gain confidence to invest. At least, this is how it started, but we see more and more startups referred to Traction Fund by executives. Sometimes, executives would like to get a second opinion on whether a startup is solvent enough. Other times, they just want us to spread the word to other executives about a great product they came across.”
Ulvi began deploying this strategy in the U.S. and expanded last year into Central Eurasia and MENA—and is now helping successful regional solutions enter the U.S. market. His work boosts enterprise productivity, accelerates software adoption, and enables capital-efficient global scale.
Cross-Border Innovation in Action
As an advisor and investor, Ulvi has played a pivotal role in the growth of enterprise software companies such as Intento, Iomete, Armeta AI, and Cybernet—introducing U.S.-based companies to markets like Azerbaijan and the Gulf, while supporting regional companies in expanding to the United States.
For instance, he helped Intento, a Berkeley, CA-based company, power content localization for multinational corporations and advised them as they expanded into MENA and Central Asia. Armeta AI – an LLM for EPC contractors, and Cybernet AI – AI for call centers of banks – and their Kazakh founders benefited from Ulvi’s support in U.S. fundraising and GTM strategy, while Iomete — an emerging data lake house — is rapidly expanding with large enterprises in the Caucasus and the US.
Building a Bridge, not a One-Way Street
“Innovation has no borders,” Ulvi says. “What we’re building isn’t just a bridge—it’s a two-way superhighway. The U.S. leads in deep tech R&D, but emerging regions often have a stronger appetite for adoption, less red tape, and valuable proprietary datasets. When these forces align, you get global companies built on real-world problems.”
Through this work, Ulvi empowers both sides: U.S. founders seeking new markets, and regional enterprises hungry for productivity-boosting innovation.
Mentorship, Ecosystem, and Global Recognition
Ulvi mentors startup founders through platforms such as SilkRoad Innovation Hub (Silicon Valley), Alchemist Accelerator, Carnegie Mellon’s Venture Bridge, Sabah.HUB, Innoland, and AIM. He served as a jury member for the Unicorn Cup Global Grand Finale (2024)—the world’s largest startup pitch competition—representing Azerbaijan on the global stage.
According to Rahim Bayramli, Co-Founder and CEO of Sabah.HUB and organizer of Baku ID:
“Ulvi represents the new generation of global venture visionaries. He’s not just helping enterprise startups raise capital—he’s creating new bridges between innovation hubs to engineer growth of startups, boost performance of corporations, and elevate regions. The bridge between the US and the region is very important in light of recent AI Memorandums signed with the US. His recognition through the Baku ID Award is well-earned.”
“In a fragmented landscape, leaders like Ulvi connect the dots: founders, customers, regulators, and capital. His cross-border playbooks turn promising software into enterprise outcomes. This is why TEVCA fully supported Ulvi’s selection for this award,” said Abbas Kazmi, Co-Founder of TEVCA, a Forbes-listed, multi-award-winning venture investor and government advisor widely regarded as one of the most influential young ecosystem-builders across Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Endorsements from Leaders under Award Announcement Post on LinkedIn:
Rashad Khalafov, Executive Director of IT at Bank Respublika (#5 Bank in Azerbaijan):
“As a banking CIO in Azerbaijan, I truly appreciate what Ulvi has been building at Traction Fund and Traction Club. The access to vetted, cutting-edge U.S. enterprise vendors is incredibly valuable for reducing costs and accelerating product innovation.”
Konstantin Savenkov, Co-Founder and CEO of Intento (Berkeley, CA), adds:
“I appreciate Ulvi’s efforts in introducing U.S. technology startups to new markets—we’re working on expanding to Central Asia and MENA to make local companies go global, localize international tech, and help governments go bilingual in their operations.”
A Future Fueled by Cross-Border Scale
As Central Eurasia and GCC countries – 250M people strong region with $4T in cumulative GDP – position themselves as tech-forward growth markets, leaders like Ulvi Rashid are helping ensure these regions not only benefit from innovation but help shape its global trajectory.
About the Award
The Baku ID Nexus Award for Cross-Border Innovation is a joint initiative of Baku Investment Day, Scale AI, and TEVCA. It honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership in connecting U.S. innovation with the Central Eurasian region through venture capital, technology scaling, and ecosystem development.
