Mircod, a Russian “IoT-as-a-service” company, has just received 400 million rubles ($5.4 million) from state-owned development corporation VEB.RF via its affiliate fund VEB Ventures, reports business daily Kommersant.
Established in 2016 in Tatarstan, a tech friendly region of Russia, Mircod enables rapid prototyping of IoT products and solutions. It has developed a “centralized platform to automate the development of IoT devices and services in a cost-effective manner.” The platform is accessible event to “people with little background in the areas of design, electronics and software.”
In the field of biotechnology, Mircod has created a joint venture with Orgenesis, a Maryland-based, Nasdaq-listed company developing cell and gene therapies. Dubbed Mircod Biotech, this JV “designs and builds state-of-the-art equipment for the fast, safe, cost-effective development and production of biologics and vaccines.”
These devices integrate multifunctional control systems and high-technology sensors that allow users to “control the ongoing biotechnological processes at a high level.”
VEB Ventures’ money will be used to increase Mircod’s technical staff and strengthen positions in Western markets.
“The investments will help to promote the company’s services more effectively in the US and European markets, which account for 95% of our sales today,” Kommersant quoted Michael Fainshtein, co-founder and CEO of Mircod, as saying.
According to Russian company register data cited by Kommersant, Mircod generated 85 million rubles in revenues in 2020 (nearly $1.2 million at the average exchange rate of the year), up from 23 million rubles in 2019. The bulk of these revenues came from foreign clients.
Last year VEB Ventures backed another Russian IoT solution provider called Alphaopen.
