Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF announces an investment in Dostavista, an international crowdsourced delivery service with Russian roots. Neither the amount nor the process identity of the co-investors (“leading sovereign wealth funds from the Middle-East”) have been disclosed, but the company told East-West Digital News that “more details”about the deal will be unveiled in a few …
Last month, a handful of journalists and bloggers in France and Germany tweeted screenshots of emails from managers at some kind of marketing agency asking them to share information about higher mortality rates in patients immunized with Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine relative to other vaccines. As reporters learned that the agency is based in Moscow, French …
Telegram messenger of Russian internet guru Pavel Durov aims to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in the next two years with a valuation of $30 billion – $50 billion, Vedomosti daily reports citing unnamed sources close to the Dubai-headquartered company. The Bell cited unnamed sources as saying that an IPO is most likely in …
The COVID-19 health crisis in much of the U.S. seems likely to hasten the adoption of self-guided robots and drones for goods transportation. They require disinfection, which companies like Kiwibot, Starship Technologies, and Postmates are conducting manually with sanitation teams. But in some cases, delivery rovers like Refraction’s could minimize the risk of spreading disease. Recent market reports from Allied Market …
How Yandex plans to expand its autonomous robot delivery service Read More
Telegram has sold more than $1 billion in bonds to international investors, founder Pavel Durov announced Tuesday, with Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF now among the firm’s backers. Durov, who founded Russia’s leading social network VKontakte before launching messaging app Telegram, said the investment will “enable Telegram to continue growing globally, while sticking to its …
Telegram raises $1 billion with Russian sovereign wealth fund buying bonds Read More
My.Games, a branch of LSE-listed Mail.ru Group, has invested in Espresso Publishing to boost its hypercasual games business. Espresso Publishing creates hypercasual mobile games, which are short but viral and can last a minute or less. The company is based in Amsterdam and headed by Zahar Serebryannikov. My.Games is taking a minority stake in the publisher, with an option …
My.Games invests in Dutch Espresso Publishing to boost hypercasual games Read More
DocClub, a Moscow-based startup that aims to “help doctors become the best practicing specialists in Russia,” has received $600,000 from Winter Capital in exchange for a 20% stake. Founded in 2019 by Mikhail Litvinenko, DocClub startup has developed a professional online game called “Doctor Simulator,” which simulates consultations. “We select interesting clinical cases and create …
Russian startup receives oligarch money injection to gamify medical practice Read More
Earlier this month My.Games, a branch of LSE-listed Mail.ru Group, and its associated investment vehicle MGVC, announced “a strategic agreement” with Pizza Club Games. MGVC is investing $1.5 million in this US-based studio launched a year ago, along with “comprehensive support in scaling the business, including marketing, game design, employee recruitment, and product analytics.” The studio expects to increase its staff and “receive …
After discussing the launch of the digital ruble with local banks, the country’s financial watchdog says it will present a more detailed concept for the national digital currency by summer. The head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, said detailed feedback from the banking community was received. In an October report, the regulator …
It’s been on the agenda for years, but now the Russian economy is finally being rapidly digitalised. The coronacrisis has accelerated the process after everyone was locked up at home in the summer and forced to buy their groceries online, but the pandemic didn’t create a new trend; it only made the existing ones move faster. …
The Russian retail digital revolution of the X5 supermarket chain Read More
5G testing has already begun in Moscow. A dedicated demo center has just been launched in the Smart City pavilion at VDNH — a permanent exhibition center — for testing and supporting urban services based on this technology. These tests concern essentially the transport industry, medicine, urban safety and education. The city authorities have partnered with …
Moscow city teams up with domestic and foreign suppliers to test 5G Read More
The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into compliance with labor laws following mass complaints from couriers working for the Russian online food-delivery platform Delivery Club (a property of Mail.Ru Group since 2016). The company’s workers are complaining about deteriorating working conditions, as well as facing an increasing number of monetary penalties. Meanwhile, Delivery …
