Russian mobile operator Yota has become a partner of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian), the $200 million fund launched last year to support Russian Internet startups. The company will invest in the fund’s startups, and may also look at acquiring some projects.
Startups will also benefit from the company’s support through assistance with infrastructure and the use of Yota’s resources in the development and testing of their products.
Yota is primarily interested in startups involved in sectors connected with mobile technology: app development, software for reducing roaming costs, financial services, mobile advertising, BigData, M2M, e-commerce, and behavioural analytics.
FRII has stated that at present there are around 12 startups working in these areas within its portfolio.
FRII offers the functions of a ‘corporate venture fund’ to major tech companies. It already works with Microsoft and Rambler&Co. The former offers startups access to its clients and technology, whilst the latter shares traffic with startups, and offers the the opportunity to incorporate its products into their software/sites.
Yota already has experience with startups, having worked with ‘NPO Analitika’, which allows users to analyse customer flow, including the proportion who reach the point of sale, the amount of time clients spend on a purchase etc. Yota spokesperson Lina Udovenko stated that the company’s sales had increased by 42% with the help of the startup.
Source: RusBase.vc
