Bright Capital, the international venture investment arm of Russian billionaire Mikhail Abyzov, has invested “from $3.5 million to $4 million” in exchange for a minority stake in Fotoshkola.net, RBC Daily reported earlier this week, citing unnamed sources in the venture industry.
When contacted by East-West Digital News, however, Bright Capital declined to confirm the figure and provide more details on the deal.
“A part of the funds will be used to expand on the American market,” RBC Daily quoted Fotoshkola.net founder Arkady Akulov as saying. “This is not the last investment round in our company; we intend to attract money from Western investors as well in the very near future, and carefully look at the Japanese, German, and Spanish market,” he added.
An online training and community resource for would-be photographers, Fotoshkola.net claims 250,000 registered users, including 20,000 who have already disbursed an average 4,700 rubles, or approximately $150, for paid courses.
E-learning is gaining momentum lately among Russian venture capitalists. Over the last few months, Runa Capital invested $5 million in Lingualeo, a startup with a web service that teaches English using popular TV serials, books and contextual dialogues, and in Dnevnik.ru, a nationwide online school network.
