On Wednesday, Vimpelcom, a major Russian mobile operator, announced it will deploy the NFC-based contactless payment system it implemented in St. Petersburg last year within the Moscow subway. Widespread commercial launch in Moscow is scheduled for the end of the year. While most offline and online purchases made in Russia are still paid in cash, …
Contactless payments take their first steps in Russia Read More
The Russian Anti Monopoly Service allowed MTS, a leading Russian operator, to acquire 100% of the shares of SkyNet, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported yesterday. The target of the acquisition provides Internet access as well as fixed line telephony services in St. Petersburg. MTS competes with other players such as mobile operator Megafon and telecom operator Rostelecom, …
MTS to acquire St. Petersburg Internet and telecom operator Read More
Fourteen residents of the business incubator of Ingria, a major technopark in St. Peterburg, attracted a total of 378 million rubles, or approximately $12 million, in investments during 2011. The sum amounted to 3.7 times as much as the previous year’s total.
Russia’s national telecommunication operator Rostelecom and Bank Saint Petersburg announced last Thursday the issue of their first co-branded bank cards with microchips containing the electronic signature of the cardholder. Certified by the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service, the cards are being produced in partnership with Mastercard and Sitronics, the largest producer of microelectronic devices in the …
Rostelecom, Sitronics and Mastercard issue first bank card with e-government access Read More
Created from the ground up less than half a year ago, ResumUp has suddenly assumed a presence on the Russian startup scene. From a “pretty obvious idea” – building infographic résumés using data from social media profiles – ResumUp aims at no less than “setting a new standard in career management, online and social recruiting,” …
St. Peterburg startup aims to set a new global standard for online résumés Read More
Get out of the way Doodle Jump and Zombieville U.S.A.: Russian players in the booming mobile application and game markets are beginning to assert themselves – with world-class products as their ammunition. Among the emerging players are traditional mobile content companies Dynamic Pixels, Herocraft and i-Free, or Game Insight, which originally focused on social games. …
Next Level: Russian mobile developers score big time on international scene Read More
AlterGeo, a Russian startup inspired by the Foursquare concept, announced yesterday it has opened a representative office in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, where it already counts 60,000 registered users. The Moscow based company has also opened an office in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, as well. The Kiev office is the company’s first …
Russian geosocial service AlterGeo puts down roots in Ukraine Read More
Just days after Texdrive, Russia’s first international startup accelerator, opened in Moscow, the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) announced in late October the creation of its own startup accelerator in partnership with US venture fund RSV Venture Partners. Operations will start early in 2012 at the university-hosted startup …
US investors to fund Russian startups through new accelerator in St. Petersburg Read More
Opera Software, the Norwegian browser software publisher, announced the results of its Opera Startup Awards contest this Tuesday. The competition, intended to reveal the best Russian student startups, was conducted by Opera Software in partnership with the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics and its affiliated business incubator ‘Quattuor Dimensionis’ (QD).
Russia has decided to opt for the DVB-T2 standard for its digital terrestrial services and will now set up pilots in eight cities. Several local reports say the decision was made last week by a government commission chaired by Igor Shuvalov, the deputy PM.
TMT Investment announced last week it will invest $1 million in a 20% stake in Berryman Capital Group (BCG), a developer of online games for social networks. TMT Investment is an international investment company based in Jersey and run by Russian businessmen focused on technology and media investment. The deal, which includes other conditions for BCG …
MegaFon, a major Russian mobile operator, has confirmed its acquisition of St. Petersburg Internet provider Web Plus last June, according to the company’s quarterly results. Megafon bought the loss making firm, which owns $4 million in debt, for $2.5 million.
