Venture / Private equity

One year after Michael Calvey’s arrest, the Baring Vostok case could soon come to an end

February 17, 2020

Last week several court decisions brought new developments to the Baring Vostok case, which started one year ago with the arrest of the firm’s executive team.  On Monday,  Feb. 10, a Moscow court ruled to keep US citizen Michael Calvey and French Philippe Delpal under house arrest until May 13.  The two expats had been …

One year after Michael Calvey’s arrest, the Baring Vostok case could soon come to an end Read More

Russian mobile marketing solution provider receives $1 million to go global

February 13, 2020

ASOdesk, a Moscow based mobile marketing solution and service provider, has just agreed a $1 million investment from Embria. The amount will be provided in two tranches within a year in exchange for a minority stake.  Launched in 2015, ASOdesk touts itself as an “all-in-one solution to grow [your] app business.” It helps companies in app …

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From politics, to PR, to venture: How a young Russian woman made her way to Silicon Valley

February 21, 2020

When Masha Drokova became one of the leaders of ‘Nashi’, a pro-government Russian youth movement, many years ago, who would have guessed her business successes in Silicon Valley would be featured one day in top US publications?  Drokova’s first professional experience as a TV host and producer in 2008 prepared her to make a lightning …

From politics, to PR, to venture: How a young Russian woman made her way to Silicon Valley Read More

Three Russian online delivery startups shut down amid strong market growth

November 12, 2020

Over the past few weeks three online delivery startups ceased activities, having failed to turn a profit or demonstrate viable business models. The e-grocery delivery service Golama made the news last year as it completed a $2.3 million round of funding, then agreed with VEB Ventures an additional $7 million capital injection.   In mid-January 2020, however, …

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Russian oil tech startup receives $1.6 million from state-supported industry fund

January 31, 2020

New Industry Ventures, a Russian fund created last year, today announced its first deal. The fund has injected 100 million rubles ($1.6 million at the current exchange rate) in ADL Completions, a startup launched in 2017 to develop technological solutions in multilateral and multi-bore well completion. These solutions allow “side-tracks” to be built onto existing wells, maintaining the flow-rate …

Russian oil tech startup receives $1.6 million from state-supported industry fund Read More

Sovereign fund RDIF to back car sales platform, food delivery service and online travel agency

November 12, 2020

On Wednesday, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced its intention to invest in three big Russian startups. The sovereign wealth fund is teaming up with Baring Vostok, a leading Russian private equity firm, and unnamed funds from the Middle East, to invest in CarPrice. Founded in …

Sovereign fund RDIF to back car sales platform, food delivery service and online travel agency Read More

State-controlled corporation backs Russia’s leading startup investment fund

February 6, 2020

[Updated Jan. 21] Rostelecom, the national telecom operator, is in the process of acquiring 31% of FRII Invest, the investment vehicle of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian). This is Russia’s biggest fund for early-stage startups, launched in 2013 as an instrument to support the emergence of a strong startup industry in Russia. Rostelecom’s is …

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2019 in Eastern Europe: Russia moved towards digital isolation, Ukraine exported IT services and gifted entrepreneurs

January 21, 2020

Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends in Eastern Europe. Since January 2019, 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 this region. This full-year 2019 review lists the most important investment and …

2019 in Eastern Europe: Russia moved towards digital isolation, Ukraine exported IT services and gifted entrepreneurs Read More

Russian court extends house arrest of Michael Calvey and other Baring Vostok executives

February 16, 2020

Yesterday a Moscow court prolonged the house arrest of US citizen Michael Calvey, French Philippe Delpal and other Baring Vostok executives for another month, until February 13. As reported by the TASS news agency, the investigation into the case is completed. All the defendants are charged with “embezzlement committed by an organized group or on …

Russian court extends house arrest of Michael Calvey and other Baring Vostok executives Read More

Russian-founded Veeam Software sold for $5 billion to major US investor

January 14, 2021

Veeam Software, a global leader in cloud data management software, is to be acquired by top software investor Insight Partners. The deal, which values Veeam at “approximately $5 billion,” is expected to be closed in March. “Veeam has enjoyed rapid global growth over the last decade and we see tremendous opportunity for future growth, particularly …

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Russian corporate fund backs US company to “revolutionize metal performance at the nano-scale”

November 12, 2020

In mid-December Severstal Ventures, an investment vehicle created last year by the Russian steel and mining giant Severstal,  announced an investment in US company Modumetal. The corporate fund has got a minority stake along with existing shareholders Vulcan Ventures, BP Ventures, Founders Fund, Steel Dynamics, ConocoPhillips, Chevron Technology Ventures and others.  Based in Seattle, Modumetal claims …

Russian corporate fund backs US company to “revolutionize metal performance at the nano-scale” Read More

Mail.Ru and Yandex bet on online platforms to massively train IT specialists

December 24, 2019

Mail.Ru Group now owns 60.3% of Skillbox, an e-learning platform for digital and IT specialties, Vedomosti reported yesterday, citing the official company register and exchanges with company representatives. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. In February, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant had acquired a 3.6% stake for an undisclosed amount as part of …

Mail.Ru and Yandex bet on online platforms to massively train IT specialists Read More

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