Larix VC, a fund launched by Moscow-based businessmen Oskar Hartmann and Igor Rybakov, has invested $750,000 in Australian car sharing platform Car Next Door.
The news was reported last week by online publication VC.ru based on exchanges with fund representatives.
Car Next Door defines itself as an online marketplace that provides a booking system and “a range of in-vehicle technologies to make car-sharing safe.” Since its inception in 2012, the startup has raised more than $11 million in total from various investors including Hyundai, MacquarieGroup, CallText Australia, and Hollard Insurance Company, according to Crunchbase.
Russian billionaire Igor Rybakov is the founder of TechnoNICOL, a Russian giant in the field of construction materials. Oskar Hartmann, a German citizen born in Kazakhstan, has asserted himself as one of Russia’s best tech entrepreneurs since he launched flash sales site KupiVIP some 10 years ago (see interview).
Hartmann and Rybakov have teamed up in several projects, including the non-profit World Entrepreneurship Leadership Foundation.
Their joint VC fund Larix operates internationally from its offices in Moscow and Berlin, investing from $100,000 to $10 million at nay stage in virtually any tech segment. Larix claims to”close deals quickly” in a “entrepreneur-friendly” way, acquiring minority stakes of “not more than 35%.” It has invested in around 10 startups so far, according to CrunchBase, including an initial investment in Car Next Door earlier this year.
