Just one year after Russia saw the launch of its first hardware-oriented accelerator, DI Group, a Tomsk, Siberia-based high tech group, has launched a “venture fund-accelerator” targeting startups in the fields of smartphones, electronics, gadgets and Internet projects.
The acceleration program of up to six months encompasses the industrial design and the marketing aspects of each project, as reported by local innovation portal Inotomsk.ru. The “venture fund-accelerator” may invest up to 8 million rubles (approximately $120,000 at the current exchange rate) in a startup, in addition to helping teams launch crowdfunding campaigns.
The “venture fund-accelerator” enjoys the support of the RVC Seed Fund and Singapore’s hardware accelerator HaxAsia. Tomsk startups will thus receive the support of experts from Singapore, the USA and other countries.
The “fund-accelerator” is being managed by DI-Group President and HaxAsia co-founder Igor Kovalev.
Among HaxAsia’s other Russian backers is SpinUp Partners, a seed-stage fund which invested in the accelerator last year.
