Earlier this month Rosatom, the Russian state atomic energy corporation, announced that it will inject up to 3 billion rubles ($47.5 million at the current exchange rate), along with other LPs, in a new venture fund christened ‘Digital Evolution Ventures.’ The fund will focus on business solutions for a range of promising industries, not only nuclear related, told …
The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian), Russia’s biggest fund for early-stage startups, has announced the results of its operations since inception. The fund launched in mid-2013 as an instrument to support the emergence of a strong startup industry in Russia. It initially received the equivalent of $200 million – a huge …
IIDF, Russia’s largest startup fund, celebrates 5 years of operations Read More
After investing $17 million in Telegram’s ICO private presale this past winter, Sergey Solonin, a co-founder of payment operator Qiwi, has committed to invest 220 million rubles (roughly $3.5 million at the current exchange rate) in Skolkovo Digital, the IT fund managed by Skolkovo Ventures, Skolkovo announced on June 1. Skolkovo Digital primarily targets startups in the …
Skolkovo Ventures attracts over $8 million from QIWI co-founder and Russian Helicopters Read More
Russia’s national telecom operator Rostelecom has acquired Solar Security, a major local tech player in the field of target monitoring and information security operational management. Rostelecom spent 1.5 billion rubles (roughly $23 million at the current exchange rate) for this acquisition, as announced last week. As part of the deal, Rostelecom’s existing information security resources, …
Rostelecom acquires Solar Security for $23 million to create national cybersecurity center Read More
MTS, a leading Russian telecom operator, announced earlier this month that it increased its stake in Ozon Holdings, one of the most established Russian e-commerce companies. The operator now own 16.7% of Ozon, up from 13.7% previously, following “a series of transactions with minority shareholders.” MTS invested in Ozon in April 2014, acquiring a 10.8% …
CardsMobile, a developer of contactless payment solutions, including mobile app ‘The Wallet,’ has raised an undisclosed amount in investment from Alfa Bank, a leading Russian commercial bank, in exchange for a 25% stake. The funding will be used to develop further the app, which allows consumers to save all their loyalty, bank and transport cards in …
Alfa Bank invests in CardsMobile to “fully correspond to the digital future” Read More
Last week Mail.Ru Group, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant, announced that it acquired a majority stake —51% — in Russian mobile games developer Bit.Games. The amount of the deal has not been disclosed. Mail.Ru Group said it will provide the team with access to all of its resources, including development, analytics and marketing, “to fuel …
Mail.Ru Group takes control of mobile game developer Bit.Games Read More
Mail.Ru Group, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant, has launched a subsidiary to invest in foodtech, the business publication RBC reported last week, citing exchanges with group representatives. Dubbed Mail.Ru Foodtech Ventures, the subsidiary may invest in “any startup related to food and technology,” a Mail.Ru representative told RBC. This includes online restaurant booking, subscription-based food …
Mail.Ru Group launches dedicated vehicle to invest in foodtech Read More
Last week Mail.Ru Group and MegaFon, two LSE-listed Russian Internet and mobile leaders, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in CityMobil, a Moscow-based taxi-hailing service. After the completion of the round, Mail.Ru Group and MegaFon will respectively own a 26% stake and an up to 31% stake in the company in exchange for capital …
Mail.Ru Group and MegaFon invest $26 million in taxi-hailing service CityMobil Read More
In late March Flint Capital, a fund with Russian roots operating internationally, participated in a $11.3 million Series A round for Audioburst, an Israel-based audio search startup. The news was reported in late March by Calcalistech. The round was led by Samsung, which invested $4.6 million through its venture arm Samsung Ventures, with participation from Japanese …
Just two months after the Russian cybersports market witnessed two major acquisitions and a $30 million ICO, Gosu.ai, a Russian-founded startup from this industry announced via Twitter that it attracted $1.9 million in funding. The round was led by Runa Capital, a VC fund with Russian roots, with participation from its existing investor Sistema VC, the venture arm …
Russian-Lithuanian startup Gosu.ai raises $1.9 million from Russian and French investors Read More
Ozon Holdings, one of the most established Russian e-commerce companies, — sometimes dubbed, with some exaggeration, ‘the Russian Amazon,’ — will receive 3.5 billion rubles and possibly up to 5.25 billion ($61 million and up to $92 million at the current exchange rate) from its existing shareholders. The better part of the capital injection will …
Russian e-commerce appeal: Ozon shareholders to inject up to $92 million in the company Read More
