Last week, major Russian mobile phone retailer Svyaznoy announced the launch of an in-house TV network. ‘Svyaznoy TV’ offers news, reports, and reviews of the retailer’s products and services as well as entertainment, corporate information, and advertising from Svyaznoy’s partners. Svyaznoy TV is currently featured in more than 900 stores across Russia, with an expected …
Mountain View, CA – Ecwid Inc., producer of the world’s first platform-neutral, drop-in store builder widget – which can be easily embedded into any website, blog or social network page in minutes – has announced its Series A round of venture funding and the planned opening of its first United States and United Kingdom offices. Ecwid is based …
Ozon.ru, a leading Russian online retailer, launched a new social commerce application on Facebook yesterday, making its entire catalog available through the social networking site, along with a number of integrative social and viral features. Users can let the app post status messages, notes, photos, and videos on their behalf or opt to keep their …
Former Mail.ru Group Executive Vice President Global Operations François Esculier has gained a seat on the Board of Directors of luxury private shopping club CollectionPrivee.ru. He recently shared with East-West Digital News his vision of the global integration of the Russian Internet, speaking his mind on the management issues domestic players faced as well as about …
François Esculier: “The global battle for digital leadership is raging in Russia.” Read More
Russia’s leading international Internet fund DST Global has begun to look at Internet companies in India for potential investment, according to Indian online investment publication VCcircle, citing “sources familiar with the development” earlier this month. DST opened its Asia office in Hong Kong earlier this year. It also invested in Chinese e-commerce leader 360buy.com and …
Heverest.ru, an online retailer of sports and recreational equipment, has attracted a $1.3 million investment from Rollingahead Ltd. and eVenture Capital Partners. The deal brings the current total amount invested in this startup to $2.2 million. Heverest.ru was launched in June of this year by Fast Lane Ventures, a Western-style startup incubator operating in Russia. …
Sport and leisure retailer Heverest.ru raises $1.3 million Read More
Is Russia set to be the next Eldorado for Western startups? As Russia emerges as a new hot spot on the global IT scene, companies have begun seeking new partners, clients and even investors. Among them is Capptain, a Paris based startup with solutions allowing mobile app and game developers to manage and serve their …
French and UK mobile startups find clients and investors in Russia Read More
Ru-Net, a major Moscow based venture fund, launched the American arm of its activity last month by establishing RTP Ventures, making its $700 million under management available to US Internet, SaaS and cloud computing companies. A few weeks earlier, the fund had participated in a $60 million round of financing – along with German based Rebate Networks …
Russian funds assert themselves on the international venture scene Read More
With more than 60 million downloads to date across all platforms, Cut The Rope is one the biggest international successes in mobile games. In March of 2011, Cut The Rope was lauded at the 7th British Academy Video Games Awards in the Hand-held game category. In June, it won an Apple Design Award for the …
Since launching operations a year ago, Fast Lane Ventures has affirmed itself as one of the most active investors on the Russian Internet scene. Among its most notable startups have been online shoe retailer Sapato.ru, daily deal site KupiBonus.ru, airfare search service Jizo.ru, real estate database Domgeo.ru and Q&A content provider Relevant Media. Fast Lane co-founder …
Jizo.ru, the air travel metasearch engine launched earlier this year by Fast Lane Ventures, has launched an impressive social commerce application on Facebook. The new tool, named Flight Finder, allows Facebook users from Russia to view the best airfare offers to visit friends and family in other cities and countries in real time with just one …
Airfare search engine Jizo.ru seeks jackpot with new social application Read More
Witnessing a growing interest in the Russian online alternative accommodation market, Moscow business incubator Fast Lane Ventures acquired a stake in Travelrent.com last month. Founded in 2009, Travelrent.com is one of the startups emerging on the local scene, focusing on Russian language users in Russia and neighboring countries. The site currently lists 3,500 available accommodations, with …
