Severstal Ventures, an investment vehicle created earlier this year by the Russian steel and mining giant Severstal, has backed the first round of the Chrysalix RoboValley fund (Chrysalix RBV GP Ltd), along with other corporations.
The amount of Severstal Ventures’ contribution has not been disclosed officially, but in an exchange with Russian business daily Vedomosti, “a source close to the deal” put the figure at “around $10 million.”
With a capital of $100 million, according to Vedomosti, Chrysalix RoboValley will invest across Europe, North America and Asia. It will focus on AI and machine learning, IoT, robotics, new materials and other technologies enabling the digital transformation of large corporations.
“These kinds of initiatives are important for the sustainable growth of our businesses as they give us priority access to the best new technologies in the world,” stated Andrey Laptev, Director for Business Development and Corporate Venture Projects at Severstal Management.
“We are constantly working to identify and introduce breakthrough technologies that will ensure we maintain our position as the lowest cost metal producer, by further optimizing our production processes. We are also focused on developing unique products that will help us to grow our market share in certain sectors,” he explained.
Chrysalix RoboValley is managed by Chrysalix Venture Capital, an established investment firm targeting innovative technologies for such energy-intensive industries as oil and gas, metallurgy, chemical and transportation.
Severstal Ventures invests in profile venture funds as well as in projects directly. According to Engineering & Mining Journal, Severstal aims to generate “a pipeline of more than 3,000 startups a year,” and to “identify and test at least 30 technologies for potential investment in 2018.” The fund would invest up to $20-25 million a year.
Sources: Irish Tech News, Vedomosti, Engineering & Mining Journal
