East-West Digital News

Founded in 2011, East-West Digital News is an online resource dedicated to the Russian high tech industry — providing fresh news, market research and business consulting services. Its news service and publications were suspended in 2022 as a consequence of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the subsequent international isolation.

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Russia’s prosecutor writes to Apple and Google CEOs, foreign affairs ministry summons US ambassador over “election interference”

September 18, 2021

In the run-up to Russia’s Sept. 17-19 parliamentary elections, as the authorities have been purging the field of almost all genuine opposition politicians, the battle against dissent is also raging online. In recent weeks, among other measures, the authorities barred dozens of websites linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, including his main website navalny.com. They had Yandex …

Russia’s prosecutor writes to Apple and Google CEOs, foreign affairs ministry summons US ambassador over “election interference” Read More

Russia’s Hermitage experiments with NFTs, “an aesthetic of possession”

September 10, 2021

Russia’s Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s largest art collection, has sold digital copies of several masterpieces in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT). The auction, in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Binance, took place from August 31 to September 7. A limited series of NFTs were brought out, featuring digital reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna Litta,  Giorgione’s Judith, Vincent van Gogh’s Lilac …

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Cian, Delimobil target New York IPOs this autumn

November 9, 2021

Russian car-sharing major Delimobil and online real estate classifieds leader Cian are considering US IPOs this autumn, hoping to raise around $350 million each, according to “financial market sources” cited by Reuters on Tuesday.  Delimobil, which announced a $75 million private equity round this past June, is now eyeing a $350 million listing on the New York Stock Exchange and a …

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Western-funded KupiVIP shuts down after 13-year e-commerce story

September 13, 2021

On Sept. 1 KupiVIP, once a top Russian fashion site, and its affiliate Mamsy.ru, wound up their operations Sept. 1, unable to compete with Russia’s new generation of online retail giants. “For 13 years we made you happy with each purchase [but] our story is over now,” says a statement posted on the KupiVIP site. …

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Sber considers listing digital subsidiaries in a few years

September 6, 2021

Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, considers having some of its digital subsidiaries listed, stated Sber President Herman Gref last week on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, reiterating previous statements.  The placement, however, would not take place before 2023, news agency Interfax reported Gref as saying.  Sber’s digital ecosystem includes a myriad of companies in the …

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GetVision’s new fund targets startups from Central and Eastern Europe

September 7, 2021

GetVision, a private investment boutique with offices in Moscow and London, is launching a 1 billion ruble ($13.6 million) tech fund for startups with roots in Central and Eastern Europe. As reported by Rusven, this pre-seed and seed fund will focus on such sectors as fintech, e-commerce, B2B software, and artificial intelligence.   Under plans, the …

GetVision’s new fund targets startups from Central and Eastern Europe Read More

Russia accuses Apple, Google of election interference

September 3, 2021

Russia said Thursday that Google and Apple’s refusal to remove jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s app ahead of elections could be seen as interference in the country’s domestic affairs. The country is holding parliamentary elections later this month, with nearly all vocal Kremlin critics including Navalny’s allies barred from running.  Roskomnadzor, the Internet and telecom …

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Report: Eastern Europe strikingly affected by crypto scams

September 2, 2021

Earlier this week Chainalyis published the key findings of their 2021 Geography of Cryptocurrency report. According to this research, Eastern Europe is severely affected by illicit cryptocurrency-related activity. In relative terms, the region is second after Africa in terms of exposure — but its overall crypto economy is much larger than that of Africa.  The key findings of this …

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Russian tech exports up threefold since 2018

September 10, 2021

Russia’s earnings from tech exports have jumped more than threefold over the last two years, according to a new report from Moscow’s Higher School of Economics (HSE). The export sales of scientific and technology services and IP-protected products reached $4.5 billion in 2020 — up 30% from 2019, three times more than in 2018, and fifteen to twenty …

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Yandex buys Uber out of food delivery partnership in $1 billion deal

September 1, 2021

Yandex has struck a $1 billion deal to buy out U.S. ride-hailing giant Uber from a host of the pair’s joint ventures in Russia, the company announced Tuesday.  Yandex and Uber first combined their ride-hailing businesses in 2017, with a deal to merge their operations in Russia and a number of other ex-Soviet countries. This partnership has seen the pair cement …

Yandex buys Uber out of food delivery partnership in $1 billion deal Read More

Delivery service Dostavista raises $35 million from top investors, rebrands to ‘Borzo’

February 18, 2022

Dostavista, now rebranded to Borzo, has completed an impressive Series C round, raising $35 million from a bevy of major international investors. This urban delivery service with Russian roots has been backed by the RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund (which made an early announcement about the deal in June); Mubadala, its Emirati peer; VNV Global, a major …

Delivery service Dostavista raises $35 million from top investors, rebrands to ‘Borzo’ Read More

A SPAC with Russian flavors: Nexters and Kismet complete merger

September 24, 2021

Nexters, one of the most successful Russian-founded game development companies, is going public today through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Kismet. The company is traded on the NASDAQ under the new ticker symbols “GDEV” (ordinary shares) and “GDEVW” (warrants). The Kismet SPAC which just merged with Nexters closed its $250 million NASDAQ IPO in …

A SPAC with Russian flavors: Nexters and Kismet complete merger Read More

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