Russia saw Wednesday its first IPO since the war in Ukraine began with local kicksharing service Whoosh raising 2.1 billion rubles ($32.6 million at the current exchange rate) on the Moscow exchange. The IPO valued the company at 20.6 billion rubles ($320 million). This is a very honorable performance for a Russian startup launched in …
Kicksharing service Whoosh completes Russia’s first IPO of the year Read More
Russia’s venture market, which hardly even reached $1 billion in pre-war years, is enduring hard times. In the first half of 2022, it fell by almost 40% in volume, according to industry research agency DSight, cited by industry news site PlusWorld. Company valuations in the tech sector have fallen dramatically, according to a study from Skolkovo and Tinkoff Private. …
Russian VC market in crisis: volumes and valuations fell sharply in 2022 Read More
Yandex, arguably the most successful and emblematic Russian digital company over the past 25 years, could be split amid the international and domestic tensions that have followed Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24. Confirming earlier media reports (FT, NYT, The Bell), Yandex announced Friday it had “commenced a strategic process to review options to restructure the …
Yandex could dismantle itself amid domestic and international pressure Read More
Immigram, a UK-based tech immigration platform, has won first prize at Slush, Helsinki’s yearly top tech event. The Russian-founded startup will receive €1 million in investment coming from top global investors including Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, NEA and Northzone. Immigram had raised half a million just six months ago, earning trust from Joint Journey and Xploration …
Naspers affiliate Prosus has sold Avito, the Russian classifieds giant, for 151 billion rubles ($2.46 billion at the current exchange), to Kismet Capital Group. The transaction, which was announced in mid-October, was closed earlier this week, reported news agencies. A consortium of banks, headed by Russian Agricultural Bank, organized financing for the transaction, Kismet said. Avito was valued at $3.85 …
Naspers sells Russian classifieds giant Avito to Russian investor Read More
Last week VK Company, one of Russia’s top Internet companies, announced the sale of its international gaming division My.Games to Alexander Chachava, Managing Partner of Russian venture firm LETA Capital. The deal includes 100% of the shares and assets of My.Games, including its studios and game products. The deal valued My.Games at $642 million — some …
VK sells its international gaming division in fear of sanctions Read More
When the Soviet Union splintered into separate nations in the early 1990s, it contained exactly zero hubs for venture-backed tech startups. Three decades later, of course, the picture is quite different. Metro areas in multiple former Soviet countries now have a rich concentration of tech founders. Capital has followed. But as one might expect, geopolitics …
Where’s funding going in former Soviet states? Not Russia Read More
Russian kicksharing service Whoosh intends to go public on the Moscow Exchange this or next year, unnamed sources told Forbes Russia and Reuters last week. Under plans, the e-scooter company could raise 10 billion roubles ($167 million at the current exchange rate) at a valuation of around 40 billion roubles ($666 million), Reuters learned. A Whoosh spokesperson told Reuters: “Like …
Top Russian e-scooter service aims to raise $167 million on Moscow Exchange Read More
One of Russia’s big three e-commerce company says it is sticking with its forecast for turnover growth of 80% this year, despite the sanctions and economic slowdown, Tass reported on August 23. E-commerce sites have benefited from the war as consumers have gone online to find goods that have disappeared from the stores after some …
Ozon keeps 2022 80% turnover growth forecast, but losses increased in H1 Read More
Russian tech giant Yandex said Tuesday it has reached a “binding” deal to sell its news platform and homepage to rival VK as war-related sanctions fuel uncertainty over the Russian tech industry’s future. VK said it exited its joint venture with top lender Sberbank to pave the way for the deal with Yandex, once considered the jewel …
Yandex reaches “binding” deal to divest news service, homepage to VK Read More
VK, previously known as Mail.ru Group, owner of Russian social network VKontakte, reported a second-quarter net loss of 3.4 billion roubles ($56 million). The loss is partly due to a 14 billion rouble ($231 million) foreign exchange hit. The VKontakte network, often compared to Facebook, has emerged as a key player in the race to …
Russian digital giant VK hit by second quarter loss Read More
Adwisely, a startup founded in Ukraine in 2018 — previously known as Retarget App — is making its way in Silicon Valley. Six months after moving its headquarters there, with a team of Ukrainian pros distributed across the world, the company has just announced the completion of a $1.5 million round of funding. London-based TMT …
Ukrainian-founded startup Adwisely backed by diverse pool of investors in Silicon Valley Read More
