Yesterday Ozon Holdings, one of Russia’s most established e-commerce players, announced that it acquired a stake in LitRes, the leader in Russia’s fast growing – though still embryonic – domestic e-book market. Neither the size of the stake nor the amount of the transaction has been disclosed. Ozon presented the deal as a way “to further …
Ozon acquires stake in LitRes, the leading Russian e-book store Read More
Recent political tensions and even a cold-war style warning from the FBI have not slowed the flow of Russian venture capital into US startups, nor have they stifled so far the American entrepreneurs’ appetite for these investments. In the past two months, no fewer than six publicly disclosed deals have been concluded between US based …
Far from politics, Russian money still fuels US startups Read More
Ozon Holdings, one of the most established players on the Russian e-commerce scene, announced today a $150 million funding deal with AFK Sistema, a Russian LSE-listed holding operating in a range of industries, and its subsidiary MTS, a leading mobile operator and retailer. [See Sistema’s investor presentation of the deal.] The transaction marks the most significant investment volume …
Ozon receives giant funding from AFK Sistema and MTS Read More
This past Friday, the Russian State Duma passed a law to create a national payment card system, the Russian news agency Interfax reported. The law took the form of amendments to existing legislation adopted in 2011. The new rules will ensure “uninterrupted transfers of monetary funds within the payment system on the territory of Russia,” …
Pavel Durov is now out for good from Vkontakte (VK.com), Russia’s leading social network which he founded in 2007. His resignation was announced yesterday by the company’s press service in a statement published by the Russian news agency Interfax. “Judging by the news, I was fired today as the general director of VKontakte. Interestingly, the …
Vkontakte founder forced to resign after revealing anti-Maidan pressure from FSB Read More
In a bid to “educate the private sector and raise awareness about economic espionage and cyber counterintelligence,” FBI special agents Lucia M. Ziobro and Vincent B. Lisi warned Boston-area businesses and academic institutions earlier this month of “scams involving malicious [Russian] venture capitalists.” The warning took the form of a notification to local players and …
This month has seen the blossoming of venture analytics in Russia, with no fewer than four reports dedicated to the field. A study from PwC, with the support of state-owned fund of funds RVC, and another from investment company Rye Man and Gor Securities (RMG) offer general views of the market. Two other reports, published by …
Russian venture market: From euphoria to maturation Read More
Last week saw the international turmoil around Ukraine and Crimea affect Russia’s banking system, as the bank card operations of several US-sanctioned Russian banks were blocked by Visa and Mastercard. Seven Russian banks were involved in the suspension, reported Russia Today, citing Timur Batyrev, head of the national payment system department at the Central Bank …
Today Yandex, the Russian search giant, announced the acquisition of Israeli startup KitLocate, the developer of an energy-efficient geolocation technology for mobile devices. The solution provides location capabilities, including geo-fencing, motion detection and social location, for location-based apps on the user’s iOS or Android smartphone. Furthermore, it allows location-based apps to request the device’s geographic coordinates less frequently “without …
Yandex acquires Israeli geo-location technology developer KitLocate Read More
iBuildApp, a California-based startup with Russian roots, has raised $525,000 from Eugene Miller and Constantine Filin to further develop its mobile app building technology and expand internationally. The iBuildApp platform allows anyone to build mobile applications for iPhone and Android without any programming skills. Templates are available for different industries, from banks and restaurants to universities, schools …
Russian-American startup iBuildApp raises $525,000 to develop in Asia and Latin America Read More
Two leading Russian online retailers, Ozon and Ulmart, are holding discussions with investors to fuel expansion in a market that grew by almost 30% last year. Ozon, a pioneering e-commerce holding with notable similarities to Amazon.com, is in the final stages of talks with AFK Sistema, a Russian LSE-listed holding operating in a range of …
Russian e-commerce leaders Ozon and Ulmart in funding talks Read More
Klever Internet Investments, the technology branch of a major Russian private investor, Klever Asset Management, has received a minority stake in CityAds Media, a Moscow-based international affiliate marketing and performance advertising platform, in exchange for a $5 million growth equity funding. CityAds, which is attracting private equity investment for the first time, intends to use the …
Russian CPA platform CityAds raises $5 million with international ambitions Read More
