Sberbank, the Russian national savings bank, announced on Friday the creation of a $100 million venture fund to finance growth stage startups developing IT solutions for the financial industry. “Not only will the fund invest in Russian startups, it will support the most promising innovation anywhere in the world,” the bank’s press release states.
The companies in the fund’s portfolio may benefit from the experience of Sberbank’s in-house Center for Technology Research. Sberbank itself may also become an important customer for the technologies they develop, according to Sberbank VP Viktor Orlovsky.
Headed by Artem Yukhin, the fund will be managed by Troika Ventures, which is the venture arm of Troika Dialog, a major Russian bank. Sberbank, together with the fund’s international partners, intends increase the volume of its investments over time to $500 million.
