Vladimir Kiriyenko, the new CEO of internet major VK Company, enjoyed a day in the limelight at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June (SPIEF). “We have exceeded a monthly audience of 100 million and a daily audience of 50 million,” he told a room full of executives and officials. “For us, that’s a …
VK set to become Russia’s digital leader as crisis shakes up sector Read More
Kaspersky Labs has acquired a 15% stake in Motive Neuromorphic Technologies (Motive NT) for “ few dozens of millions or rubles” (hundreds of thousand USD), according to media reports last week. Established in 2017, this company processes visual information using deep neural networks. It creates software and hardware systems to recognize objects or people on …
In the instable environment created by Russia’s war on Ukraine, Yandex’s annual report to the US Security Exchange Commission (SEC) provides details on a range of pressing business issues and potential company risks. The report was issued Thursday by Yandex’s Netherlands-headquartered mother company, which has been listed on the Nasdaq since 2011. After the resignation …
Yandex scales back “many planned investments,” withdraws 2022 financial guidance Read More
Playrix, a global Russian-founded mobile gaming giant, acquired a minority stake in AppQuantum, a Cyprus-based, Russian founded mobile gaming developer and publisher. The deal took place in late 2021 but was announced only in early February. Launched in 2017 by Evgeny Maurus, AppQuantum is behind such titles as Dragon Champions, Evil Clicker and Gold & Goblins. While claiming “dominant positions” in clicker and …
Russian-founded gaming giant Playrix continues investment spree Read More
Last week Nexters — a Russian-founded gaming company which went public on the Nasdaq last summer by merging with a SPAC — announced a series of acquisition and investment deals. With a total upfront investment of around $100 million, Nexters will take control of three game studios: RJ Games (Russia), a puzzle RPG major and the publisher of Puzzle Breakers; Royal Ark (Russia), …
Nexters acquires gaming studios, Rostelecom eyes cloud gaming company Read More
Russia’s Gazprom is gaining control of VK Company, the LSE-listed Russian Internet major (previously known as Mail.ru Group), as a result of a string of deals to buy out Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from the company. These transactions will increase state control over the group, which owns in particular the country’s leading social networks Vkontakte …
Russian state strengthens control over leading Internet group VK Read More
In the past few months, Russian Internet major VK (previously Mail.ru Group) demonstrated a strong appetite for online education — both in Russia and abroad. In August the group, partnering with Alexander Galitsky, integrated its properties Skillbox and GeekBrains into a holding called Skillbox Limited. In October, VK completed the move by merging SkillFactory, …
VK acquires edtech businesses in Russia and Brazil Read More
Dsight, a Moscow based business intelligence company with a focus on investment, has just released the English version of its Russian venture report covering the first half of 2021. In contrast with last year’s disappointing numbers, the market showed signs of renewed growth earlier this year, with total deal value exceeding $1 billion for the first semester. This is an …
Report: Russian venture market hit $1 billion mark in H1 2021 Read More
MTS AI, the artificial intelligence arm of Russian telco MTS, is launching an international acceleration program and venture fund to invest in AI startups across the world. Dubbed ‘Intema,’ the platform plans to invest some $100 million in startups from late seed up to Series B. The investments focus on language, image and behavior analytics, edge computing and logistics, Alexey Posternak, CFO …
Russian mobile operator MTS to invest $100 million in AI startups across the world Read More
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 …
Sber considers listing digital subsidiaries in a few years Read More
AfterOzon, Sber, Yandex and Auchan, a new big capital injection was announced earlier this week in the Russia e-commerce space. AliExpress Russia, the cross-border e-commerce leader and a major player on the domestic market, will receive $60 million from Mail.ru Group, one of its shareholders. The fresh funding will support AliExpress Russia’s “ongoing active expansion …
MegaFon exits AliExpress Russia, Mail.Ru injects $60 million to support company expansion Read More
In the first half of this year Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant (previously known as Sberbank), invested some 73 billion rubles (around $1 billion) in its digital ecosystem, a company representative told business daily Vedomosti. These investments account for 11.5% of Sber’s net profit for H1 2021 (630 billion rubles). Sber’s investments in this field are accelerating dramatically: …
Sber and Yandex invest piles of rubles in digital services and e-commerce Read More
