This summer Social Discovery Ventures (SD Ventures), an international technology and investment group with Russian roots, invested an undisclosed amount in Latvian drone company AirDog.
The group also is also creating a new co-working space in Riga, which is scheduled for launch in September.
In an interview with EU-Startups, SD Ventures founder Dmitry Volkov, a Russian-American serial entrepreneur, explained his interest in Latvia as follows: “Latvia is very close. I’m originally from Moscow, and spend some time there, but I live in Malta and New York as well. The flight to Riga from Moscow takes an hour and it is a short ride from the airport. Even getting around Moscow sometimes takes as much time as getting to downtown Riga. A lot of people speak Russian here – it helps some of our employees. It is also much easier to do business in the EU.”
SD Ventures usually does not invest in hardware, “but AirDog has an interesting social aspect,” said Volkov.
AirDog claims that its drones are the only ones designed for action sports, — from mountain biking, to surf and windsurf, to waterboard, to kiteboard, to backcountry. “It’s not about flying, it’s about getting the shot without taking anything away from what you love most — the action itself,” says the company.
“Motion prediction technology and dedicated action sport flight modes enables users to capture themselves in action effortlessly in the most demanding conditions. Using AirLeash, a wearable, waterproof controller, you select your sport, launch AirDog with the push of a button and go about business as usual; your every move will be captured no matter how fast or high you go,” the Latvian startup says.
From tech investment to scientific and artistic engagement
SD Ventures defines itself as “an international umbrella brand for group of technology and software engineering companies which provide platforms for social discovery, personal development, and online entertainment.” The company invests in, develops and supports a range of B2C internet projects and brands in the fields of online dating, the finding of travel companions, social games, language learning and practicing communities, and others.
Reflecting Volkov’s interests in a variety of subjects, the company is also involved in a variety of social activities. These include open art lecture series; support of scientific research in the fileds of philosophy, psychology, robotics and architecture; and a private concert and lecture hall for art lovers in Moscow.
SD Ventures employs more than 600 people worldwide across eight “art-ified” offices, including in New York, Moscow and Hong Kong.
