QwikCilver, a Bangalore, India-based provider of gifting card solutions, has raised $10 million in a new round of funding led by Russian fund Sistema Asia Fund, reports The Economic Times.
Previous investors in QwikCilver — including Amazon Asia-Pacific, Accel India and Helion Venture Partners — also participated in the round, but their respective contributions has not been disclosed.
The funding will be used for will use the funding commercial development in the domestic market. In addition, QwikCilver is considering expansion to markets in Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia, where it is currently tying up with brands and merchants, according to The Economic Times.
Launched in early 2016, Sistema Asia Fund is one of the corporate funds of Sistema, an LSE-listed Russian conglomerate. With $50 million in capital under management, Sistema Asia targets essentially Indian startups operating in the technology and niche consumer retail segments.
In April, Sistema Asia Fund participated in a $12 million funding round for Seclore, a major enterprise digital rights management (EDRM).
Russian tech investors in India
A growing number of Russian tech players have launched activities in India or begun exploring local opportunities.
Thus Ru-Net, a Moscow-based venture fund backed by Leonid Boguslavsky, a figure on the Russian and international high-tech scene, invested in several Indian e-commerce companies, including Freecultr.com and BeStylish.com in 2012, and Indian mobile recharge platform FreeCharge in 2014.
DST Global, a major global venture fund managed by Yuri Milner, is also investing in the subcontinent enthusiastically. In July last year, DST Global participated in a $36 million funding round for Grofers, a competitor of PepperTap. In 2014, the fund led a $210 million investment round in leading Indian online retailer Flipkart.
Another Russian investor interested in the Indian market is Boris Ryabov, managing partner of venture fund Bright Capital. Last year he contributed an undisclosed amount to a $1.7 million round of funding for Indian food delivery service Inner Chef, along with Ukrainian and local investors.
Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow, is also strengthening ties with India. In February last year, 15 of its resident companies took part in IndiaSoft, a major industry conference and B2B networking event. In September, a delegation of scientists, educators and ministry officials from India paid a visit to Skolkovo on a fact-finding mission to study the opportunities available for Indian students and startups in Russia.
