i-Free, a global Russian mobile, digital finance and micro payment company, announced last Thursday the launch of its own internal venture fund to invest in IT startups.
The new fund will provide financing as well as training and mentor support for seed stage projects – even to projects with “non-obvious monetization schemes” – and early growth stages. Investment amounts will range from $20,000 to $600,000.
The company said it would consider equally propositions from Russian, European, Asian and US startups.
The new fund will focus on innovative technologies such as near field communications (NFC), augmented reality (AR), Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC).
i-Free has particular interest in services for travelers and passengers, location based games and community services, e-commerce – including group buying – mobile and browser based games, Internet services, digital and mobile media as well as applications for mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers and other multimedia devices.
i-Free has been operating in Russia and the CIS since 2001 and expanding internationally since 2006. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, the company has offices in Moscow, Kiev (Ukraine), Minsk (Belarus), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Mumbai (India), Beijing (China) and Sao-Paolo (Brazil).
The company claims its products and services are available in over 100 countries and that it grossed almost $100 million in sales in 2009.
The company focuses on pioneering projects in mobile technologies, electronic finance, digital content distribution, electronic payments and micropayments, smartphone applications, new network devices, B2C digital product marketing and B2B mobile marketing.
Source: i-Free
