Adrien Henni

Adrien Henni is the founder of International Digital News, a tech news and research agency dedicated to the emerging tech scenes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. With nearly 20 years of experience in the high-tech and venture businesses in France and Eastern Europe, he advises a variety of startups, investors and other organizations. He is a regular contributor to industry publications and speaks at conferences in Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, and America.

avatar

Runa Capital invests in French startup SimpliField to “reinvent retail”

June 12, 2017

Runa Capital, a venture fund with Russian roots operating globally, has just participated in a $4 million seed round for  SimpliField. Based in Lille and Paris, France, this startup has developed a SaaS solution which it claims can change “the way retailers sell and deliver great customer experience.” The French investment fund CapHorn also took …

Runa Capital invests in French startup SimpliField to “reinvent retail” Read More

Local fashion site Wildberries tops Russian e-commerce ranking

May 3, 2017

Data Insight, a specialized research agency, and Ruward, a publisher of industry rankings, have released their ranking of Russian e-commerce sites in 2016. Sites are ranked by sales volumes, number of orders and average order value as estimated by the research agency and, in certain cases, confirmed by the companies. Fashion site Wildberries.ru jumps from second place …

Local fashion site Wildberries tops Russian e-commerce ranking Read More

Mail.Ru announces $100 million global investment program in online gaming

December 4, 2018

Today Mail.ru Group, an LSE-listed Russian Internet company, announced the creation of ‘Mail.Ru Games Ventures’ (MRGV), a new division to invest in game development, technology and marketing worldwide. “Up to $100 million” is allocated to this investment program, of which $10 million has already been spent for the first deals, which have not been disclosed. The group targets “accomplished game studios …

Mail.Ru announces $100 million global investment program in online gaming Read More

Russian and Belorussian businessmen invest $100 million in AI projects worldwide

April 1, 2017

The global AI investment fever has hit Eastern Europe with two funds, Larnabel VC and VP Capital, making their first local and international deals under a joint $100 million investment program. Larnabel VC is the venture arm of the Gutseriev family, one of the richest in Russia. VP Capital is the investment vehicle of Belarussian businessman Viktor Prokopenya. Any project types are potentially eligible. “We …

Russian and Belorussian businessmen invest $100 million in AI projects worldwide Read More

Qiwi buys e-CRM startup Flocktory for $14 million

March 26, 2017

Qiwi, a major, NASDAQ-listed Russian electronic payment operator, is in the process of acquiring Flocktory. Founded in Russia in 2012, this startup has developed a SaaS platform for customer lifecycle management and personalization, and operates internationally from its Moscow and Madrid offices. Based on data collection and analysis, Flocktory’s automated marketing solutions are intended, in particular, for the …

Qiwi buys e-CRM startup Flocktory for $14 million Read More

Swedish and Russian funds invest in two Russian fintech startups

February 16, 2017

Russia’s Baring Vostok and Sweden’s Vostok Emerging Finance (VEF) have invested up to $20 million in two Russian startups: Sorsdata, which is developing a consumer marketing and analytics solution, and Revo Technologies, which offers a crowdsourced microcredit service for online consumers. The deal, which took place last month, was confirmed to East-West Digital News by Björn von Sivers of VEF. The Swedish …

Swedish and Russian funds invest in two Russian fintech startups Read More

Runa and Alven invest in French startup Keymetrics, “the next leader in Node.js”

February 12, 2017

Earlier this week Runa Capital, a venture fund with Russian roots operating globally, and Alven Capital, a Paris-based fund, announced an investment in Keymetrics. This French startup has developed a SaaS monitoring service for server infrastructure. making it easier for developers to build Node.js apps. Keymetrics raised $2 million in total in this round, including $1 million …

Runa and Alven invest in French startup Keymetrics, “the next leader in Node.js” Read More

Sberbank in talks with Alibaba to launch universal e-commerce platform in Russia

January 23, 2017

Sberbank, Russia’s national savings bank, and Alibaba Group are in discussions to create a joint venture that would include the Chinese group’s existing cross-border e-commerce businesses in Russia and neighboring countries. Among these businesses is AliExpress.ru, a B2C marketplace that has asserted itself as the largest e-commerce platform in Russia, far ahead of its foreign or even …

Sberbank in talks with Alibaba to launch universal e-commerce platform in Russia Read More

Russian face recognition app now available to Twitter users and Turkish police

November 18, 2024

Now Twitter users can find a random person’s page in the network after taking a photo of them in the street. This functionality — a sort of Shazam for people — is offered by FindFace, an app that can scan Twitter’s database of 313 million active users in less than a second and find a match, if it exists. The app was made available to Twitter …

Russian face recognition app now available to Twitter users and Turkish police Read More

LinkedIn blocked in Russia: A welcome warning for global players?

November 29, 2016

Earlier this month the Russian telecom regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to LinkedIn for non-compliance with recent legislation on personal data storage. EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni analyzes the significance of this move far beyond Russia’s borders.   Adopted in 2014 and applicable since September 2015, the law requires companies operating in Russia to store Russian …

LinkedIn blocked in Russia: A welcome warning for global players? Read More

Russian sovereign fund makes new investment in Hyperloop One, aims to develop new projects with US and Asian partners

March 2, 2017

Russia’s sovereign fund RDIF has “increased by several times” its investment in Hyperloop One, the Californian startup which aims to commercialize next-gen transportation technologies. The transaction — which was part of Hyperloop One’s latest round of funding last month — was revealed on Saturday at the APEC summit in Lima by the fund’s CEO Kirill Dmitriev. Dmitriev presented Dubai port operator DP World, which led the …

Russian sovereign fund makes new investment in Hyperloop One, aims to develop new projects with US and Asian partners Read More

Scroll to Top

This site is under maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This site is under maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.