The latest viral sensation taking the Russian internet by storm is… a farm. A fictional, futuristic “cyberpunk” farm, to be more specific. “Russian Cyberpunk Farm,” which imagines life at a provincial Russian village in a future dominated by tech corporations, has racked up more than 3.5 million views since it was published on YouTube last …
Viral ‘cyberpunk farm’ satirizes Russia’s agritech future Read More
As announced previously, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation has launched an application called ‘Gosuslugi. Covid Tracker’ to track contacts with coronavirus patients all around Russia. Users diagnosed with COVID-19 must independently report this anonymously through the application. In turn, users with whom this person came in close contact in the last …
Russian government launches Covid contact-tracing app Read More
Russia’s Digital Development Ministry is finishing work on a new mobile app designed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Its working name is ‘Stopcoronavirus. My contacts.’ The contact-tracing app, which relies on technologies developed by Apple and Google, is designed to track nearby mobile devices and warn the user if they have been within 10 …
Russian government prepares to launch coronavirus contact-tracing app Read More
Russian 3D rendering company Megarender has secured $3 million from Scalo Technologies, a firm launched earlier this year to invest in artificial intelligence and B2B cloud services. Megarender facilitates access to powerful servers to increase considerably the speed of 3D rendering. Customers may thus use such software as 3ds MAX, Arnold, Blender, Cinema 4D, Corona Renderer, …
New Russian AI and cloud investment firm backs 3D rendering company Megarender Read More
An investor consortium led by Russian private equity firms Elbrus Capital and Winter Capital (the latter has Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin among its limited partners) has acquired 60% of Banki.ru, a leading bank and insurance marketplace. The investors are buying all the shares of company founders Philipp and Kirill Ilyin-Adaev and Elena Ishcheeva for an undisclosed amount. Russia Partners, an …
Banki.ru founders sell their stake to settle conflict with US investor Read More
MegaFon, a major Russian mobile phone operator, is to acquire 33.8% of Digital Media Holding LLC (DMH), the parent company of the Start video service. The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but RBC heard from industry analysts that MegaFon’s stake might have been valued between 1.5 and 2.7 billion rubles (from $19 million to $34 …
MegaFon invests in fast-growing challenger on Russian online video market Read More
Sber, Russia’s state-controlled financial and technology giant (previously known as Sberbank), has brought its stake in Rambler to 100%, buying the 45% stake of billionaire Alexander Mamut. These shares will be paid for in tranches, stated Sber. The first one, worth 3 billion rubles (nearly $38 million at the current exchange rate) will be settled immediately, while …
Sber completes full acquisition of online media and entertainment group Rambler Read More
Ozon, Russia’s leading multi-category e-commerce company, aims to go public later this year or in early 2021, the company announced Friday, and has started the registration procedure for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company did not provide any details on the potential placement but, according to …
Russian digital majors Ozon and ivi.ru plot US IPOs Read More
As the global digital music market pursues solid growth, last week saw three deals involving companies from Russia or with Russian founders. Sberbank acquires Zvooq Just a day before touting its transformation into a tech “universe,” Sber announced the acquisition of Zvooq, one of the most established Russian music platforms. No details about the transaction were disclosed. Founded in 2010 by UK …
From Moscow to Berlin, digital music startups attract top investors Read More
Sberbank, Russia’s state-controlled financial and tech behemoth, plans to increase its share of Rambler Group, a major online media and entertainment group. Following the acquisition of a 46.5% stake in August last year, Sberbank is now preparing for an additional investment “to ensure the group’s absolute leadership in the market.” The investment is set to total 2 …
Sberbank to increase its hold on top media group Rambler Read More
The subway cars working in the Moscow Metro will soon be equipped with facial recognition systems, reports the BBC Russian Service. According to a tender announced on July 9, the Moscow Mayor’s Office is spending 1.4 billion rubles (more than $19.7 million) on the purchase of the necessary surveillance cameras and specialized software. The first stage …
Moscow subway to deploy facial recognition surveillance system Read More
Yesterday, Spotify launched in Russia as well as 12 other markets: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Music lovers from these countries can now enjoy Spotify’s 50 million tracks and 4 billion playlists, as well as localized music personalization features. Russia is the 17th-biggest streaming market in the world and on pace to be the 10th-biggest streaming market …
Spotify launches in Russia and 12 other Central and Eastern European countries Read More
