Velyana Borisova has a broad range of experience advising clients on venture capital transactions. Velyana specialises in advising entrepreneurs, high-growth companies and investors in the life sciences and technology sectors.
Velyana has a particular expertise in advising startups in the life sciences, fintech, information technology and consumer products sectors at all stages of a company’s lifecycle.
Velyana also advises some of the leading corporate venture corporations and has strong experience in acting for venture capital investors and startups on a range of issues, including equity investments, disposals, management incentivization and corporate restructurings.
Velyana has an interest in healthcare and defense investing and enjoys acting for pro bono clients with a focus on healthcare.
Prior to joining the firm in 2025, Velyana was an associate in the emerging companies / venture capital team of the London office of an international law firm. Velyana has also worked internationally, including as a secondee in the Boston office of her previous law firm.
Experience
- Advised a Boston based biotech corporation on its US $1M convertible loan note financing into a UK based biotech company
- Advised a leading pharmaceutical company on its investment in a UK based biotech company
- Advising a leading French reinsurer on its portfolio companies’ investments.
- Advised a Boston based biotech company on its US $8M series A-2 extension equity financing round*
- Advised a UK based vacation rental software startup on its €18M series C equity financing round*
- Advised a US based tech luxury retailer startup on its US $20M series A-4 extension equity financing round*
- Advised Morningside Ventures on its investment in VaxEquity, a company developing RNA vaccines*
- Advised a UK based startup optimising manufacturing processes on its £15.5M series A equity financing round*
- Advised a UK based video analytics software startup on its £2.5M convertible loan note financing*
- Advised a UK based biodiversity monitoring data startup on its £6.5M series A equity financing round*
- Advised a European venture capital fund on its USD 2M series seed financing into a San Francisco based fashion tech company*
- Advised a UK based crypto business on its corporate reorganisation prior to a series A equity financing round*
- Advised a UK based vacation rental software startup on its investor led secondary sale;*
- Advised Calipsa, Inc. a technology leader in cloud-native advanced video analytics, on its acquisition by Motorola Solutions*
- Advised Laundrapp, a startup offering on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning services, on its acquisition by Laundryheap*
- Advised JobPal, a startup that has developed an enterprise-grade chatbot technology, on its acquisition by SmartRecruiters*
*Experience prior to joining Ropes & Gray