One of the largest Ukrainian telecom operators continues to develop digital medicine: Kyivstar purchased a stake in Helsi, almost completely concentrating control over the company, but leaving the current management model.
One of the largest Ukrainian telecom operators continues to develop digital medicine: Kyivstar purchased a stake in Helsi, almost completely concentrating control over the company, but leaving the current management model.
Kyivstar announced the completion of a deal to increase its stake in medical IT company Helsi from 69.99% to 97.99%. According to the company's press release, this was part of the commitments of its parent company VEON, which promised to invest $1 billion in the Ukrainian economy by 2027.
According to Forbes , the deal was worth $10.5 million.
Kyivstar announced that they will not change Helsi's operating model: co-founders Yevhen Donets and Yevhen Hubych will continue to manage the company, and another co-founder, Samvel Hakobyan, will remain on the supervisory board. The management, team, and strategy remain unchanged.
According to YouControl, Kyivstar owned 69.99% of Halsey Ukraine LLC. Samvel Hakobyan owned a 26.9% stake through Ukrainian Investment Platform LLC. Co-founders Hubych and Donets each had (and still have) 1% of the shares.
Samvel Hakobyan is one of the co-founders of Helsi, who participates in the strategic management of the company through the Supervisory Board. Forbes previously told his story.
"I'm a private person, I don't want to do PR," he said about himself.
Samvel Hakobyan studied at the Kyiv Biotechnology Gymnasium, but, as he told Forbes, he was expelled from the university for non-attendance; he planned to complete his higher education later.
Before launching Helsi, he worked in IT outsourcing with partner Artem Mykhailiuk. He is a co-author of the initial concept of Helsi, formed in 2015. He avoids publicity and rarely gives interviews.
In 2023, Hakobyan founded a new medical project lilo with an authorized capital of UAH 1 million. In particular, his partners in this business were the former head of Prozorro Vasyl Zadvorny, member of the supervisory board of Kyivstar Dmytro Shymkiv and others. lilo — a product startup in the field of medical insurance
lilo is not the only medtech project of Samvel Hakobyan. In an interview with delo.ua, he talked about Bubibo . According to him, this is an ecosystem product for the veterinary industry - an analogue of Helsi, but for pets. It will have an information system for veterinary clinics and a dog training function - a whole series of training videos for dog owners, which are available to all Bubibo users.
Interestingly, one of the co-owners of lilo and Bubibo is Danylo Privalov, the son of the late mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes. In an interview with delo.ua, Samvel Hakobyan said the following about him:
“Daniel and I met about eight years ago. Even before other partners appeared, we were already close. In 2022, we decided not only to be friends, but also to create joint products. It happened naturally: we stayed in Ukraine during the war, spent a lot of time together and discussed our ideas. After I completed the deal with Helsi, we realized that it was time for a new stage of development.
We combined our resources, ideas and energy to create something new. Danylo is not an IT specialist, but he is a very smart person with strong skills in finance and strategy. He complements me with his knowledge, and together we move in the same direction.
Since Kyivstar entered Helsi's capital in 2022, the project has undergone a profound transformation. Investments have already exceeded UAH 240 million. During this period:
At the beginning of 2025, over 29 million Ukrainians were registered in Helsi, and the system processes almost 229 thousand doctor appointments every day. In 2024, over 1,600 clinics and 60,000 doctors were connected to the system, and Helsi became the largest medical IT platform in the country.
After increasing its stake, Kyivstar plans to focus on new digital services in the eHealth sector, in particular, on the development of algorithms for preliminary diagnostics, telemedicine, automation of medical service accounting, and the implementation of AI solutions in the interaction between doctors and patients.
"The new stage of partnership and increased investment in Helsi will allow us to accelerate the development of new business areas in the eHealth sector and strengthen the social component of the business," commented Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov.
Recall, we recently reported that Kyivstar is leasing up to 5,000 sq. m of space in the office building where the company's central office is located, and we learned the reasons for the operator's move.
