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 seeks funding for Putin’s ‘genetic database’

June 25, 2021

Earlier this month  Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a series of orders to determine the needed funds and sources for Russia’s national genetic database program. The move followed a visit to the  Kurchatov Institute — a secretive research organization headed by President Putin’s close ally Mikhail Kovalchuk — which is leading Russia’s genetic research program. Putin, who has sought to transform Russia into a world leader in genetic …

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Moscow-based TalkBank raises $3 million to develop “bank in messengers”

June 18, 2021

A Russian neobank called TalkBank has neither physical branches, nor call centers, nor even a mobile app. Its principle consists in offering “a bank in messengers,” i.e. Telegram, Facebook, WhatsApp or Viber. “Digital financial assistance” is provided by a smart bot that “understands banking commands in natural language.”  Thus customers will be able to better plan their budget and …

Moscow-based TalkBank raises $3 million to develop “bank in messengers” Read More

VTB Capital invests $75 million in Russian carsharing major Delimobil

August 30, 2021

VTB-Capital, a division of the state bank VTB, is in the process of acquiring a 15% stake in the Delimobil car-sharing service. A memorandum of cooperation was signed at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June by Yuri Soloviev, First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, and Vincenzo Trani, founder …

VTB Capital invests $75 million in Russian carsharing major Delimobil Read More

Tinkoff offers virtual phone secretary to all Russian mobile phone users

June 19, 2021

In early June Tinkoff, the Russian digital banking giant, announced the beta version of its free voice assistant ‘Oleg,’ making it available to all mobile users in Russia. ‘Oleg’ is also unique in the world in that “it can be easily activated both in the Tinkoff super app and via popular messengers such as Telegram …

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Otto Group’s myToys shuts downs in Russia after 10 years of activity

June 28, 2021

myToys, an online retailer of children’s goods owned by Otto Group, ceased its activity earlier this month in Russia after more than 10 years of operations on the market.  In recent years, myToys.ru was among Russia’s leading e-commerce sites in its category.  However, according to official data cited by Retailer.ru, the site’s net loss jumped from 34.8 million rubles in 2019 (around …

Otto Group’s myToys shuts downs in Russia after 10 years of activity Read More

BestDoctor.ru attracts $26 million from major Russian, Austrian and Swedish investors

June 17, 2021

In late May Russian insuretech leader BestDoctor closed a $26 million round with an impressive investor consortium. The money was brought in by Winter Capital, a Moscow-based international fund backed, in particular, by billionaire Vladimir Potanin; UNIQA Ventures, which is affiliated to a major Austrian insurance group owned by Raiffeisenbank; and VNV Global, a major …

BestDoctor.ru attracts $26 million from major Russian, Austrian and Swedish investors Read More

High tech reverberations from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

June 19, 2021

A notable part of this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was dedicated to IT and digital transformation as well as the state’s role in these fields (see the forum’s topical sessions and its special Innovation Space). This major event took place on June 3-4, gathering much of the country’s political and business elite and some foreign …

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Russian travel segment is recovering fast from the pandemic

August 10, 2021

According to Aviasales.ru, Russian travellers booked 15% more tickets through its air ticket online booking platform for this May holiday season than in the same period of pre-covid year 2019.  The company also notes that 95% of the tickets were sold for domestic routes vs. 75% before the pandemic. The most popular international destinations this year were Turkey, …

Russian travel segment is recovering fast from the pandemic Read More

Russian-born social commerce major Ecwid sold to Canadian Lightspeed for $500 million

June 9, 2021

After Veeam Software, Wrike and Magic Lab — to cite just a few recent examples — this is yet another happy exit for a Russian entrepreneur established in the West. Ecwid, a Russian-rooted provider of social commerce solutions for small businesses, is in the process of being acquired by Canadian Lightspeed. This Toronto-listed online and offline retail software major says it is buying …

Russian-born social commerce major Ecwid sold to Canadian Lightspeed for $500 million Read More

Russian service marketplace Eruditor secures $22 million venture loan to go global

June 9, 2021

Last week two large financial institutions announced a 1.6 billion ruble ($22 million) investment in Eruditor, a group of online platforms for small businesses and freelancers providing home and local services.   The funding is provided jointly by the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund, a vehicle created by Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF and the Chinese Investment Corporation, and …

Russian service marketplace Eruditor secures $22 million venture loan to go global Read More

Russia-based global delivery service Dostavista attracts funding from sovereign wealth funds

June 5, 2021

Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF announces an investment in Dostavista, an international crowdsourced delivery service with Russian roots. Neither the amount nor the process identity of the co-investors (“leading sovereign wealth funds from the Middle-East”) have been disclosed, but the company told East-West Digital News that “more details”about the deal will be unveiled in a few …

Russia-based global delivery service Dostavista attracts funding from sovereign wealth funds Read More

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