S7 Group, a major Russian airline company, is about to launch a $50 million venture fund, Vedomosti reports.
Since last year, the group has already invested some $10 million “in startups developing digital and industrial technologies,” S7’s VP for innovation Dmitry Chuiko told the business daily.
These startups are from Western Europe, the USA, India and China, with Russian ones accounting for just 12% of the portfolio. One of them is Gettransfer.com, a London-based online platform for booking transfers or rent cars, which was founded in 2015 by a Russian entrepreneur.
The fund is likely to be registered abroad, since international investment deals would not be made easily using a Russian vehicle.
Scheduled for launch by the end of this year, the fund will pursue both financial profit and corporate innovation goals.
