Lanit Ventures, a $10 million VC fund set up last year as part of the Lanit group, is actively supporting start-up teams in a variety of fields, Kommersant reported last week.
According to the business daily, the new fund is backed by the shareholders of Lanit, a major systems integrator established as early as 1989. The new fund invests in Russia and the former Soviet Union, with certain amounts also allocated for projects outside the region.
Lanit Ventures is reported to purchase blocking stakes in IT and Internet projects “with high potential in the global markets.” The fund also seeks new mobile and web-based platforms, SaaS and cloud services, as well as fintech and retail-focused solutions.
The fund’s growing portfolio consists of projects invested by both Lanit Ventures and its parent company, Lanit. Such are, for example, Fibrum (VR headsets), CleverDATA (big data analysis and processing), Lanit Omni (loyalty programs and other digital solutions to help retailers manage customer behavior), ÑardsMobile (contactless payment platform), Dashboard Systems (software products for management structures in mid-sized and large-scale corporations as well as in governments), or Mopro, a U.S.-based website developer.
This past February, the fund anted up more than a million dollars for the development of Zozo WFM, a company that is putting together digital HR management systems, and also helped its portfolio company, Mobile Electronic Education (MEE), bring on board a new co-investor, the 1C enterprise software giant.
Since it helped set up MEE in 2014, Lanit has invested $4 million in total in the start-up. MEE develops software solutions and services for both high school education and programs aimed at re-training teachers.
Zozo WFM helps optimize business processes, from planning and KPI forecasts to working shifts management.
