Cubic Robotics, a Russian startup developing robots that can communicate with their owners, has raised $500,000 in its second round of funding from a private investor, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported last week. The financial injection came from Konstantin Senchenko, a Russian businessman who earlier helped the startup with $100,000 in seed capital. …
Last month RTB-Media, a startup that develops a real-time bidding SaaS offer, secured an undisclosed amount from ImpulseVC, a venture fund and accelerator launched last year. The startup, launched just six months ago, was initially backed by Alexander Minakov (Miralab.ru) and Daniil Kravtsov (Rizzoma.com, Tekliner.com) who invested 4.5 million rubles (approximately $140,000) in the project.
Almaz Capital Partners, a major Russian venture fund, has participated in a $6.5 million round to fund If You Can, a California-based startup that uses gameplay to teach children social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. The Series A round was led by Greylock Partners with the participation of other investors. The startup had previously raised $2.8 …
The Vkontakte shareholder drama saw new developments yesterday as United Capital Partners (UCP), which acquired a 48% stake in the social network last year, announced that it is suing the company’s two other shareholders in Russian and international jurisdictions. The Russian fund is accusing Mail.ru Group and Ivan Tavrin – who bought his 12% stake …
Vkontakte shareholder drama continues: UCP to sue Mail.ru Group and Ivan Tavrin Read More
Ever since Russia become the ‘R’ in Jim O’Neil’s BRIC acronym in 2001, Western investors and entrepreneurs have increasingly sought to take their chances in Moscow, St. Petersburg and beyond. O’Neil’s assessment of the size of the opportunity within the Russian market has been shown to be decidedly correct. However, the flow of investors from …
Going East – What Western investors need to know when considering Russia Read More
The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), one of the country’s leading graduate science universities, has launched its own $30 million seed fund. The fund, called Phystech Ventures, is focused on incubating and growing MIPT-related tech companies in the fintech, edutech, digital health, 3D-printing, efficient energy use and oil & gas technology sectors.
Magisto, an Israeli cloud-based mobile video platform, announced on Friday a $2 million investment from Mail.Ru Group, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant. The investment is designed to fuel further growth and customer acquisition. In addition, Magisto has integrated its offering into Odnoklassniki.ru, a subsidiary of Mail.Ru Group and the second largest social network in Russia …
Israeli mobile video platform secures $2 million from Mail.ru Group Read More
Gazprombank, an affiliate of the state-controlled gas giant, now has a controlling stake in WebMediaGroup, after acquiring the stake previously held by Rostelecom’s president Sergey Kalugin. WebMediaGroup’s other shareholders are Leader Innovations and individual investors. Gazprombank and Leader Innovations had acquired minority stakes in the company in 2011.
While startup incubators and accelerators have been springing up like mushrooms in Russia over the past few years, this one deserves particular attention. It is the first such structure in the country completely dedicated to hardware projects – from consumer robotics to 3D-printing to smart electronics for “smart home” systems and wearables. The accelerator, christened …
Russia’s first hardware startup accelerator launches in Kazan Read More
YaKlass has secured $450,000 in a second round of financing in less than one year, the startup’s founder Valery Nikitin told Firrma.ru, an online publication covering the Russian startup and venture scene. Two major venture funds, Almaz Capital and Vesna Investment, along with Russian businessman Pavel Kovsharov, brought in the funds, which will be spent on …
E-learning startup YaKlass secures second round from Almaz Capital and Vesna Investment Read More
Earlier this week Mango Telecom, a Russian provider of SaaS solutions for business communications, announced it had attracted a $10 million investment from Intel Capital. The company intends to use the funds to expand its cloud-based business services to Russia and enter the European market. Mango Telecom’s offer includes a hosted PXB (corporate telephony) solution, a …
Intel Capital invests $10 million in Mango Telecom Read More
Cloud-graphics company Otoy has raised a fourth round of funding from Russian tech investor Yuri Milner, the man who invested in Facebook and Zynga, as well as former Morgan Stanley chief executive John Mack. The Los Angeles-based company started out in cloud gaming, but it shifted its focus to using the web-connected data centers, or a …
