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.

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Yandex launches “hyper-local weather forecasting” and “automated information agency”

February 9, 2016

Yandex announced yesterday the launch of ‘Meteum,’ a new machine learning-based technology for “hyper-local and super-accurate weather forecasting.” “This new technology collects a massive volume of data about past forecasts made by external providers like WRF or Foreca, and compares them with the historical weather conditions to figure out the difference between what was forecasted and what happened …

Yandex launches “hyper-local weather forecasting” and “automated information agency” Read More

ChefMarket.ru raises $5 million, targets $1 billion valuation “in 5 to 7 years”

February 9, 2016

Moscow-based food delivery startup ChefMarket.ru has just raised $5 million at a $25 million valuation from its existing shareholders, including AddVenture and the startup’s founder and CEO Sergey Ashin. ChefMarket offers home delivery of food products based on recipes from renowned Russian and West-European chefs. The concept is close to that of Western startups Blue Apron …

ChefMarket.ru raises $5 million, targets $1 billion valuation “in 5 to 7 years” Read More

From import substitution to autarky to military confrontation? Russia’s high tech strategy in questions

February 11, 2016

In mid-October Dmitry Marinichev, the Kremlin’s Internet Commissioner, made controversial statements concerning Russia’s options for further technological development in the current international context. Initially reported by Russian business daily Kommersant, these statements were widely discussed in Russia in the subsequent weeks. Speaking to Russian scientists at Russia’s Civic Chamber, Marinichev underlined America’s monopolistic and hegemonic position in …

From import substitution to autarky to military confrontation? Russia’s high tech strategy in questions Read More

Russian online retailers allowed to sell goods through AliExpress

February 12, 2016

AliExpress, the Chinese B2C marketplace which last year became number one online retailer in Russia, will allow Russian vendors to sell their goods through its platform starting from Nov. 11, news agency RBC reported last week. Nearly 20 Russian retailers will be available on AliExpress at start, said Mark Zavadsky, GM of Alibaba Russia. These companies include marketplace Wikimart.ru, online retailers …

Russian online retailers allowed to sell goods through AliExpress Read More

Hong Kong investment company acquires Russia’s Yota Devices in $150 million deal

February 12, 2016

Earlier this week Rex Global Entertainment, a Hong Kong-based investment company, announced that it has acquired a 64.9% stake in Russian smartphone manufacturer Yota Devices for $100 million. The shares were purchased from Telconet Capital Limited Partnership. The remaining shareholders are Russian state corporation Rostec (25.1%) and Yota management (10%), Yota Devices CEO Vladislav Martynov told Russian …

Hong Kong investment company acquires Russia’s Yota Devices in $150 million deal Read More

Naspers acquires controlling stake in Avito.ru in one of Europe’s largest startup exits

February 12, 2016

Naspers announced today a $1.2 billion transaction to become the largest shareholder in Russia’s leading online classifieds site Avito.ru — just weeks after the company aired its IPO plans. After buying shares from existing shareholders, Naspers will increase its stake from 17.4% to 67.9% on a fully diluted basis. Kinnevik is selling its entire 31% stake to the …

Naspers acquires controlling stake in Avito.ru in one of Europe’s largest startup exits Read More

Russians may order embargoed food products through foreign online stores, say customs authorities

February 12, 2016

Russian citizens are allowed to buy embargoed products from foreign online stores, the Federal Customs Service (FCS) has stated in a written answer to an inquiry from customs broker Unitrade on behalf of cross-border e-commerce platform Shopfans. In 2014, following the sanctions applied by western countries against a number of Russian individuals and businesses, Russia …

Russians may order embargoed food products through foreign online stores, say customs authorities Read More

Avito acquires delivery service aggregator CheckOut and prepares for IPO

February 12, 2016

Avito, Russia’s leading online classifieds site, is preparing for an IPO, co-founder and CEO Jonas Nordlander stated last week. Avito is “in the preparation for the simple reason that we want to have options if it at some point makes sense for the business and shareholders to go public,” Bloomberg quoted him as saying. Avito …

Avito acquires delivery service aggregator CheckOut and prepares for IPO Read More

Russia’s venture summer in review: More than 25 deals reported, new fund of up to $300 million launched in Moscow

December 26, 2018

Venture funds with Russian capital or Russian origins were far from being inactive this summer, which saw more than two dozens of significant deals made public and several new funds and accelerators launched. The invest-abroad trend, which started a few years ago, has been accelerating recently, as witnessed by the number of deals which involved US, Israeli, Asian and Australian …

Russia’s venture summer in review: More than 25 deals reported, new fund of up to $300 million launched in Moscow Read More

Three new Chinese platforms launched in two weeks: The invasion of Russian e-commerce continues

September 24, 2015

Illustrating the growing appeal of the Russian market, three significant Chinese e-commerce platforms have been launched in Russia for the past two weeks. In late August, as reported by business daily Kommersant, DHgate announced a partnership with two key Russian service providers, payment service provider QIWI and shipment company SPSR Express, to develop its activities in Russia. SPSR Express …

Three new Chinese platforms launched in two weeks: The invasion of Russian e-commerce continues Read More

500 Russian and Korean tech players meet in Seoul to develop business ties

June 23, 2016

With Russia seeking to develop ties with Asian tech industries, a number of its key tech players this week are holding a “Business Week” in Seoul, South Korea, expecting to attract over 500 members of the Korean and Russian scientific and business communities. In addition to this conference of multinational businessmen and officials, the program of this three-day …

500 Russian and Korean tech players meet in Seoul to develop business ties Read More

Personal data storage and management in Russia: Report by EWDN and EY sheds full light on legal and organizational challenges

February 15, 2017

Starting from September 2015, the personal data of Russian citizens must be stored on servers located physically on the Russian territory. Adopted last year in a bid to affirm Russia’s digital sovereignty, this new law has provided many players with challenges due both to its demanding requirements and the ambiguity of some of its key provisions (see details in EWDN’s …

Personal data storage and management in Russia: Report by EWDN and EY sheds full light on legal and organizational challenges Read More

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