In a series on Europe’s “hottest startups,” the UK edition of tech magazine Wired published earlier this month a selection of 10 Russian startups. These included peer-to-peer publishing platform Gitoon, e-commerce intelligence platform Ometria, “rephotography” app publisher Timera, slideshow assistant app Penxy, music-streaming service 10tracks, taxi app publisher Wheely, driving navigational system WayRay, video game marketplace Gameslooper, educational program comparison engine Choister, and autopilot system developer RoboCV.
Wired — which says nothing about its selection criteria — presents the Russian startup scene quite optimistically. Citing perhaps outdated statements by Russian venture capitalists, the UK publication envisions an “increase in private and international investors on the Russian venture market” and “an average GDP per capita growth of six percent per year until 2015.”
Such predictions seem unlikely to come true due to the recent degradation of Russia’s macroeconomic situation and the recent decline of the venture market. In reality, Russian startups could well be affected not only by Western investors’ growing mistrust of the Russian market, but also by a more cautious attitude by some domestic investors.
Wired is certainly more convincing when, quoting Anna Dvornikova of The Entrepreneurs’ Club, it underlines the “constantly increasing quality of Russian startups.”
