Corporate investment

Russian mobile major MTS acquires blockchain trade finance platform

August 3, 2021

MTS, a leading mobile operator and provider of digital services and content, has acquired a 51% stake in blockchain-based trade finance platform Factorin.  The two year-old company touts itself as “the biggest factoring platform in Russia andone of the leading B2B blockchain systems for trade finance in the world.”  Founded by Andrei Maklin with support from venture builder Digital Horizon — …

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Russian-founded graphene nanotube leader valued at $2 billion, inks investment agreement with Daikin

August 4, 2021

OCSiAl, the Russian-founded global graphene nanotube leader, has inked an investment and business cooperation agreement with Japanese giant Daikin Industries. The companies disclosed  OCSiAl’s valuation (“about $2 billion”) but not the terms of the share subscription deal.  Pronounced ‘Oxial,’ OCSiAl refers to four chemical elements: oxygen (O), carbon (C), silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al). Touted as the …

Russian-founded graphene nanotube leader valued at $2 billion, inks investment agreement with Daikin Read More

Auchan plans to spend more than $277 million on developing digital service in Russia

June 16, 2021

French retailer Auchan plans to spend more than 20 billion roubles ($277 million) on developing digital services in Russia by 2024 to boost online sales, the company’s country head said. Auchan has faced increased competition from fast-expanding Russian retailers and online delivery firms, including Magnit (MGNT.MM) and Lenta .  Auchan, which started to expand its online delivery …

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Sberbank promises to double online ecosystem investments over the next three years

May 5, 2021

In September last year Sberbank, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, rebranded itself to just ‘Sber,’ dropping the word “bank” from its name, but the change has not really caught on. The management is now ramping up its rebranding drive and has promised to double investment into building its new “bank plus everything else” online …

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Russia’s AI Alliance launches training programs, contests and an investment platform

April 1, 2021

The board of the Artificial Intelligence Alliance met in late March in Moscow, providing updates about this organization created by large Russian companies 2019. An investment platform will be launched to “consolidate the AI project and idea pipeline” and provide participating companies with access to the corporate accelerators of the members. Dubbed ‘AI-Hub,’ this platform will also “allow …

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Sber and Mail.ru Group “on the brink of divorce” (FT)

March 31, 2021

The rumors aired in late 2020 about dissensions between Mail.ru Group (an LSE-listed Russian Internet major) and Sber (the state-controlled financial and technology giant previously known as Sberbank) could be confirmed soon.  The Financial Times learned that the two groups are considering splitting jointly-owned assets, including meal delivery service Delivery Club and ride-hailing service Citimobil. These companies are part of a joint …

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Backed by a software giant, this Russian smart transportation provider eyes foreign markets

March 19, 2021

Softline Venture Partners, the venture arm of Russian software giant Softline, has invested in T-1 Group,  a provider of B2B and B2C telematics solutions and navigation technologies. No details of the transaction were disclosed.  “The acquisition of a stake in T-1 Group is an investment in the rapid growth of the transport telematics market, which is simply …

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Tencent backs Russian game studio to re-create robotized Soviet atmosphere

February 5, 2021

Russian game publisher Mundfish has secured a Series B funding round led by Tencent. Two existing investors — Moscow-based GEM Capital  the investment vehicle of oil industry executive Anatoliy Paliy and Gaijin Entertainment’s founder Anton Yudintsev — also took part in the deal. The amount of the capital injection was not disclosed, but industry insiders told Russian business …

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Russian telecom majors MegaFon and MTS invest in the startup space

August 30, 2021

MegaFon, a major Russian mobile operator and retailer, has increased its stake in video service Start to 50%, as reported by business daily Kommersant.  The move follows the acquisition of 33.8% of the company, announced in October 2020. The valuation of the startup — which was founded in 2017 — could reach or exceed 4 billion rubles (some …

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Yandex invests in Russian DNA testing company

January 19, 2021

Last month, according to media reports, Russian DNA testing company Genotek raised $4 million in a funding round led by Yandex. No information was disclosed about the other investors or the terms of the deal, and Genotek did not answer EWDN’s media inquiries.  The company, founded in 2010, says it partners with “leadings Russian and European research institutes in the field of genetics and …

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Sber’s international accelerator launches third batch with support from 500 Startups

December 23, 2020

Sber, Russia’s state-controlled financial and tech giant, and its US partner 500 Startups announce the third batch of Sber500, their joint startup acceleration program. The closing date for entries is January 10, 2021.  This batch is touted as a “powerful response to the current challenges and conditions that startups faced in 2020.”  The program will …

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Russian dating major Mamba invests $3 million to develop in Germany, Italy

December 21, 2020

Russian online dating leader Mamba is investing some $3 million to develop its business in Germany and Italy, reported Kommersant, citing exchanges with company representatives. The company expects the average monthly revenue per user in these countries to be almost twice as high as in Russia, where it stands around 500 rubles ($6.7 at the …

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