Venture / Private equity

Russian billionaire Oleg Boyko buys into German online lending startup

February 16, 2016 February 16, 2016

Russian billionaire Oleg Boyko’s private-equity company bought a stake in Germany’s Spotcap as the online lender backed by Rocket Internet SE secured its biggest financing to date. Spotcap raised 31.5 million euros ($34 million) from Boyko’s Finstar Financial Group and existing investor Holtzbrinck Ventures, Chief Executive Officer Toby Triebel said by phone. Spotcap lends to small and medium-sized …

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ComfortWay raises €6 million to “disrupt the telecom market” globally

February 15, 2016 February 15, 2016

Last week ComfortWay, a Russian startup developing a “Virtual SIM Card” project, announced that it has agreed a €6 million investment in several tranches with a pool of European telecom companies and individual investors. Neither the identity of the investors nor the terms of the transaction can be disclosed, the startup’s CEO Oleg Pravdin told East-West …

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After Magomedov and Usmanov, Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman invests in Uber

February 13, 2016 June 9, 2020

International investment group LetterOne (L1) has just announced that it has made a “strategic investment”of $200 million in Uber. Mikhail Fridman, the chairman of the group, is the third Russian billionaire in a row to invest in the US company, following the moves of Ziyavudin Magomedov and Alisher Usmanov last year. “I’m excited by our strategic partnership with …

After Magomedov and Usmanov, Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman invests in Uber Read More

Almaz Capital leads 2nd round for Ukrainian-American connected pet device maker

February 10, 2016 February 11, 2016

Earlier this month Ukrainian-American startup Petcube, which has developed an interactive device to keep people connected with their pets, announced that it raised $2.6 million in its second round of funding. The round was led by Almaz Capital, an international venture fund with Russian origins, with participation from AVentures Capital, a leading Ukrainian fund, and Y Combinator, …

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Polish PE firm injects $2 million in Russian online travel agency Oktogo

February 9, 2016 February 9, 2016

Oktogo, a major Russian online travel agency and content portal, has secured $2 million from MCI Management, one the most established private equity group in emerging Europe. The deal was revealed yesterday by Russian business daily Vedomosti based on exchanges with Oktogo’s CEO Marina Kolesnik and an MCI representative. The funds will be used to develop Oktogo’s activities on the domestic …

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AFK Sistema launches $50 million fund to support Indian startups

February 9, 2016 April 12, 2016

AFK Sistema, a Russian LSE-listed conglomerate, has launched a proprietary $50-million (Rs 340 crore) Asia Fund to support Indian startups operating in the technology and niche consumer retail segments. “The Sistema Asia Fund will start with an initial tranche of $50 million, which will be increased significantly in the near future once our startups financing business grows in India,” The …

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From London, to Prague, to Tel Aviv, Russian money still fuels international startups

February 5, 2016 February 9, 2016

Confirming a trend which started years ago and continued all along 2015, several venture funds with Russian backers or managers invested abroad last month, with half a dozen significant deals made public. Thus AltaIR Capital, LETA Capital and Maxfield Capital took part in a $1.2 million seed funding round for Tel Aviv-based startup Viisights. The round was led by Israeli early-stage fund The Time. …

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Real estate tycoon invests $3.9 million in Russian contactless payment startup

February 2, 2016 February 2, 2016

Russian businessman Sergey Kozlovsky has invested 300 million rubles (approximately $3.9 million at the current exchange rate) in PayQR, a Russian startup developing contactless payment solutions. The news was reported earlier today by Russian business daily Vedomosti, which cited PayQR’s founder Vyavcheslav Semenchuk. The details of the transaction were not disclosed. A mobile, QR code-based solution, PayQR claims to be …

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This year might be a good one for selling to investors, believe Russian VCs

January 29, 2016 January 29, 2016

Which Russian startups may be interesting to international investors? Are there any positive trends on the Russian venture market? What do you expect from the tech sector in 2016? ArcticStartup has asked these and other questions to three Russian investors: business angel Alexey Menn, Life.SREDA’s Vladislav Solodkiy, and Maxfield Capital’s Alexander Turkot. Their professional background …

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Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg backs US online media group Gawker ahead of costly lawsuit

January 28, 2016 February 7, 2016

Columbus Nova Technology Partners, a California-based venture fund controlled by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, is to acquire a minority stake in Gawker Media. The amount and the terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. As its founder Nick Denton admitted in an internal memo, Gawker Media needed to strengthen its financial reserves as it is preparing for a …

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Rusnano teams up with Chinese corporation to launch $500-million nanotech fund

January 25, 2016 March 2, 2017

Rusnano, Russia’s national nanotech investment corporation, and Zhongrong International Trust, a major Chinese investment and banking corporation, have agreed to launch a joint investment fund in the field of nanotechnologies. Signed last week, the agreement contains some legally binding clauses, Rusnano Senior Managing Director Ashot Maryan told Russian business daily Vedomosti. The partners will provide their equity investments in equal portions and …

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Russian oligarchs Magomedov and Usmanov have stakes in Uber

January 23, 2016 March 2, 2017

USM, an investment holding controlled by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, invested “several dozen million dollars” in Uber in the summer of last year. The investment was revealed yesterday by Russian business dailies RBC and Vedomosti, which cited unnamed sources in the holding. USM and Uber, however, declined to comment on these reports. Thus Usmanov has been …

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