Will Russia take control of Ukraine after a quick military victory? Will it be a long-lasting war of guerrilla? Could an escalation involve neighboring countries and western powers? The outcome of the Russian military attack on Ukraine that began on Thursday, Feb. 24, is unpredictable. But just hours after the invasion, the impact on the …
August Meyer, co-owner of cosmetics chain Rive Gauche and former co-owner of now defunct online retail Ulmart — was arrested Wednesday last week in St. Petersburg. Meyer and his wife, Inna Meyer, are suspected of embezzling 2.4 billion rubles ($32.6 million at the current exchange rate) from state-owned bank Sberbank on the pretext of developing Ulmart shortly …
Former US citizen and Ulmart co-owner August Meyer arrested in St. Petersburg Read More
On Sept. 28 Russian authorities arrested Ilya Sachkov, the 35 year-old founder and CEO of a leading Russian cybersecurity company, under “state treason” charges. The news sent a chill through the IT and business community, as it followed recent cases involving prominent tech entrepreneurs and investors in Russia — from US private equity investor Michael …
Top Russian cybersecurity executive Ilya Sachkov arrested in state treason case Read More
A Moscow-based startup called Neiry is developing “human-friendly neural interfaces” applicable to a variety of daily tasks — from gaming and entertainment, to medical therapy, to training, to business. Supported by Russian state innovation programs, this startup believes it can “improve and restore human abilities and functions that were previously unattainable,” and contribute to “the acceleration …
The Russian venture scene is tiny, but vigorous: several new funds were announced over the past few weeks, targeting a variety of sectors and geographies, sometimes with very specific approaches.. 10 billion rubles for Russian tech startups One of these new funds was announced by TealTech Capital, a PE/VC firm owned by Yury Alasheev, Andrey Ivashchenko and Andrey …
Digital Primorye, a smart city solution provider launched by the Far East High Technology Fund (FEHTF) and VessoLink Group, is working on some 30 projects to develop digital services and high tech systems in such sectors as transport, public utilities, education, health care, and more.. These projects are taking shape in Primorye, a Far Eastern Russian region that …
Private-public partnership launches $69 million smart city program in Russia’s Far East Read More
GrainRus, a Russian importer and producer of raw materials for the brewing and dairy industry, has become a limited partner (LP) of a Hong Kong and US-based foodtech fund. Lever VC was launched in 2018 to invest in the alternative protein space. Its team includes early investors in Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Memphis Meats and other …
Russian agroindustrial major GrainRus invests in international foodtech fund Read More
Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, and RVC (Russian Venture Company, now affiliated to the sovereign wealth fund RDIF) yesterday announced plans to launch a joint $100 million fund for early-stage tech startups. This is a substantial amount for Russia, where annual domestic venture investment volumes are in the hundreds of millions of US dollars. The fund will …
On April 7-8, more than 200 Russian and foreign speakers as well as thousands of attendees are expected to take part in the 15th edition of the Russian Venture Forum (RVF). One of the country’s leading industry events, this forum is held each year in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. This edition …
Motorica, a Moscow-based high-tech prosthetic startup, has attracted 300 million rubles (some $4 million at the current exchange rate) from two major government funds: the sovereign wealth fund RDIF and the Far-East High Technology Fund. The news was reported yesterday by business publication RBC, which cited exchanges with the Far-East fund’s press service. Touting itself as “the only company in the world to make …
Moscow startup receives $4 million from state funds to develop high-tech prostheses Read More
An award-winning fintech startup from Moscow, APIBank, has attracted 120 million rubles in Russia (some $1.6 million at the current exchange rate) from the Russian-Belarusian Investment Fund (RBF Ventures). As reported by CNews.ru, this is the first external capital infusion — in the form of a convertible loan — in this startup launched in 2018. The money will be used “to develop products for payment aggregators and marketplaces, and …
Open banking startup secures $1.6 million from Russian-Belarusian state-backed fund Read More
Botkin.AI (Intellogic), a Russian startup that has developed an AI-powered radiology platform, has completed a 160 million rubles Series B round ($1.2 million at the current exchange rate). The money was injected by two medtech investors: investment holding Tashir Medica and RVC-backed Unicorn Capital Partners. The funds which took part in the previous round (100 million rubles in June 2019) backed again the …
