TMT Investments, a London-headquartered venture fund backed by Russian businessmen, announced last week that it has raised $1.125 million from an unnamed “group of qualified investors.”
Launched by German Kaplun, Alexander Morgulchik and Artyom Inyutin, the founders of the large Russian media holding RBC back in the 1990s, TMT was introduced on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, in late 2010.
Since its IPO, TMT has invested in no fewer than 23 companies, mainly in the fields of mobile software and social media applications.
Although TMT has no geographical or “nationality” restrictions, a significant proportion of its investments have been made in companies led by Russian émigrés in Silicon Valley.
“These entrepreneurs moved to the USA and Silicon Valley, either first or second generation,” TMT’s executive director Alexander Selegenev said in an exchange with East-West Digital News. “They are extremely talented and ambitious individuals who have chosen the USA or Silicon Valley to base their operations. Some were educated at top institutions in Russia and some in the USA.”
Among these Russian-American startups are Wanelo.com, a retailer of “trending products,” Wrike.com, a publisher of collaborative software, and Blaze.com, an online backup provider. Recently, TMT also invested in Virool, a startup developing a self-service video network, and in Adinch.com, a mobile advertising company.
TMT Investments’ shares have been up 40% in the last 12 months. The fund made its first exit from an investment in December 2012, selling its stake in game developer Berryman after a 15-month investment with a 20% return.
TMT’s portfolio as of March 2013 – Source: TMT Investments
