Finance

Mail.ru Group and Sberbank assert themselves on food delivery market

November 12, 2020

Mail.ru Group and Sberbank have invested in food delivery service Localkitchen.ru (“Kukhnya na rayone”) through their joint venture O2O. Citing Russia’s company register, business Vedomosti reported yesterday that O2O committed a loan of up to 290 million rubles (nearly $3.9 million at the current exchange rate) convertible into a 30% share. The news came just …

Mail.ru Group and Sberbank assert themselves on food delivery market Read More

In April, X5 Retail’s online sales increased 4.7 times year-on-year

May 26, 2020

Last week X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer listed on the Moscow and London stock exchanges, announced that its online sales – through Perekrestok.ru and Delivery.Pyaterochka – amounted to 1.7 billion rubles (incl. VAT, approximately $22.6 million) in April. This is a 4.7-time increase in value from the same month of last year. …

In April, X5 Retail’s online sales increased 4.7 times year-on-year Read More

Pavel Durov gives up his blockchain project, shifting the blame to US authorities

May 17, 2020

“A US court stopped TON from happening:” with this simple explanation, VK and Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced today he is giving up his widely hyped blockchain and cryptocurrency project. This is the latest, but probably not the last episode of a saga which started in early 2018 with a controversial $1.7 billion ICO. Many unforeseen developments followed, …

Pavel Durov gives up his blockchain project, shifting the blame to US authorities Read More

Survey: 3 VC investors in 4 in Eastern Europe did not cancel or renegociate their deals amid the pandemic

May 11, 2020

Last month ProVenture, a Telegam channel dedicated to venture and startup activity, surveyed venture investors from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Fifty two investors, 29 private VC fund managers, 5 private PE fund managers and 8 business angels took part in this online poll. ProVenture founder and Da Vinci Capital investment director Denis Efremov shared the main results of the survey with East-West Digital News. Almost all respondents did feel an …

Survey: 3 VC investors in 4 in Eastern Europe did not cancel or renegociate their deals amid the pandemic Read More

Runa Capital’s $157 million new fund will chase machine learning and quantum computing projects

May 12, 2020

Runa Capital, a Palo Alto-headquartered VC firm with Russian roots, has closed its $157 million third fund – above the initially considered $135 million target. “The fundraising started last year and went super fast, we were oversubscribed already months ago,” the firm’s managing partner Dmitry Chikhachev told East-West Digital news. Launched in 2011, Runa Capital’s first …

Runa Capital’s $157 million new fund will chase machine learning and quantum computing projects Read More

20 sovereign funds and international institutions prepare joint response to Covid-19 pandemic

November 12, 2020

More than 20 international investment institutions and sovereign wealth funds, including Russia’s RDIF, are discussing potential coordinated efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. In late April a video conferencegathered these organizations representing Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore,  South Korea, Thailand, the UAE and the USA. As stated by …

20 sovereign funds and international institutions prepare joint response to Covid-19 pandemic Read More

Is Telegram’s blockchain project heading to legal, technical and financial failure?

May 12, 2020

[Updated May 7] Last week Telegram, the messaging app founded by Russian tech guru Pavel Durov, postponed yet another time the release of its blockchain platform TON and cryptocurrency Gram. The hypothetical launch is now scheduled for April 2021 with a clawback clause for investors. Through a controversial ICO in early 2018, Telegram raised some …

Is Telegram’s blockchain project heading to legal, technical and financial failure? Read More

A Russian-born ‘soonicorn,’ Miro raises $50 million from Silicon Valley tech billionaires

June 21, 2021

Miro, a Californian startup with Russian roots previously known as RealtimeBoard, announced yesterday a $50 million Series B round. The funding came from Iconiq Capital – a Silicon Valley fund backed by such tech billionaires as Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey – with Accel and several individual investors also contributing to the round. The detail of the deal were …

A Russian-born ‘soonicorn,’ Miro raises $50 million from Silicon Valley tech billionaires Read More

Amid the pandemic, some Western investors take a closer look at Eastern European tech companies

April 30, 2020

Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and neighboring countries in Eastern Europe. Since last year, EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni has offered a regular column to highlight the most notable industry facts and trends as well as promising tech innovations from these countries. Covering the first quarter …

Amid the pandemic, some Western investors take a closer look at Eastern European tech companies Read More

Robot maker Promobot raises $2.7 million to develop artificial skin in Russian Far East

April 17, 2020

Promobot, a successful Russian robotics startup, has secured 200 million rubles (approximately $2.7 million) from the Far-East High Technology Fund as it intends to open a branch in this far-flung Russian region. This local branch will develop sophisticated artificial skin and hair to enhance the look of these robots.  The fresh funding will also help …

Robot maker Promobot raises $2.7 million to develop artificial skin in Russian Far East Read More

Sberbank combats COVID-19 with disinfection robots, AI-powered medical tests and giant e-commerce loan

November 12, 2020

Last week Sberbank, the Russian financial and tech behemoth, announced it created a disinfection robot “in the shortest time.” It is intended for use in any public place – from hospitals, to schools, to offices, to public transport. This robot – which is an adapted version of a delivery robot – can disinfect a room of 20 sq. …

Sberbank combats COVID-19 with disinfection robots, AI-powered medical tests and giant e-commerce loan Read More

Russian venture market reached record $868 million in 2019

April 16, 2020

DSight, a business intelligence agency focusing on the Russian venture market, has just released the English version of its latest yearly report. Russian venture investments amounted to at least $868 million in 2019 (excluding exits), up 13% year-on-year, says the report. Although this performance remains very modest by international comparison (USA: $136 billion, UK: $14.3 billion, Germany: $6.6 billion), it …

Russian venture market reached record $868 million in 2019 Read More

Scroll to Top

This site is under maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This site is under maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.