Subjektiv became the only art startup among 24 Ukrainian winners who made it to Google for Startups from almost 900 applications. The platform rethinks the format of interaction with art and already unites hundreds of artists from dozens of countries. dev.ua talked to Kateryna Serdyuk, CEO and co-founder of Subjektiv, and found out how it works.
Subjektiv became the only art startup among 24 Ukrainian winners who made it to Google for Startups from almost 900 applications. The platform rethinks the format of interaction with art and already unites hundreds of artists from dozens of countries. dev.ua talked to Kateryna Serdyuk, CEO and co-founder of Subjektiv, and found out how it works.
The startup Subjektiv was founded in 2023 as a response to the shortage of high-quality, sensitive tools for working with art in the digital space. The idea was initiated in the spring of 2023 by Kateryna Serdyuk and Rostyslav Borshch, with Serhiy Filonenko also joining the project.
In the fall of 2023, the team presented the platform concept at Web Summit in Lisbon. The public launch of the product took place in the fall of 2024. Currently, the startup has 12 full-time people working on it, plus a few part-timers. In total, there are about 20 team members.
At its core, Subjektiv is a digital platform for buying, storing, and reselling artworks, focused on emotional experiences. It operates as a complete ecosystem: from discovering new artists to managing a digital collector’s account.
«In our application, everything is built so that immersion in art is intuitive and natural,» explains Serdyuk.
The user installs the application from the App Store or visits the website, completes a simple registration and immediately gains access to selections, artist portfolios, descriptions, and recommendations. On the mobile and desktop versions, the user is greeted by a starting interface that offers several interaction scenarios at once: viewing works, searching for authors, and learning about the platform’s values.
Purchasing a painting takes just a few clicks. After payment, the work is physically delivered, and its digital passport appears in your account: a certificate confirming its authenticity, information about the artist, and ownership history.
One of the key features is reselling within the platform. The user can describe their experience of owning a work, add photos, and put the work on the secondary market directly through the application. All information is already in the system, with trust in the seller and no need for external platforms.
The platform has an open model: any viewer or artist can register for free. There are no mandatory payments for creating an account, publishing works, or being on the platform.
«Artists post their works without any payment — they do not pay for storing their portfolio or being on the platform. We believe that such democratic conditions will remain unchanged,» Kateryna emphasizes.
This principle allows us to attract artists from different countries, regardless of their financial capabilities. Each artist has a full page with works, descriptions, and prices.
The platform’s financial model is based on commissions. It has two main monetization scenarios:
«We have a Direct Sale Service, when the artist sells the work independently. In this case, we receive a commission of 7%,» Serdyuk explained.
This approach allows for flexible adaptation to the needs of different authors and does not limit their autonomy.
As of now, the platform features over 610 artists from 66 countries. These are artists with different styles, backgrounds, and career experiences: from young authors to recognized artists in their regions.
«Hundreds of artists and thousands of viewers — the audience is constantly growing. And we are now actively conducting marketing activities in order to attract new users, both artists and buyers,» notes Kateryna.
The entire visual component of the platform supports the principle of «not galleries, but environments»: works are presented not as lots, but as aesthetic experiences that can be part of the user’s life.
Subjektiv was created with the founders' own funds. In the first half of 2024, the team conducted the first investment round to scale the platform.
«The project is financed from our own funds. In addition, an investment round was attracted in early 2024. And now, including to support the project, we have received a grant from Google,» explained the CEO of Subjektiv.
In 2025, Subjektiv became one of 24 winners of the Google for Startups Ukraine Support Fund program. The startup was selected from almost 900 Ukrainian applications. It is the only representative of the arts sphere in the final list, which was dominated by projects in artificial intelligence, agrotechnology, and IT.
In addition, Subjektiv received the status of a resident of Diya.City. This provides tax benefits, a simplified legal structure, and favorable conditions for attracting investments and cooperation with specialists.
In the near future, Subjektiv will focus on developing marketing channels, PR activities, and geographical expansion.
«We have opened up North America, Myanmar, and the Middle East and continue to strengthen our presence in key European countries: France, the UK, Germany, the Scandinavian countries, Portugal, and Spain,» says Kateryna.
In parallel, the team is working on new functional blocks and preparing offline events that will connect the platform’s online environment with physical spaces.
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