The Untitled, a Russian venture firm established in 2013, is raising a new vehicle to invest across Eastern Europe with a focus on the former Soviet Union. With a €50 million target, the new fund will seek to invest at the seed and pre-Series A stages in such segments as B2B software, robotics, artificial intelligence, …
Russian online video major ivi.ru has attracted debt financing for the first time. As reported by business daily Vedomosti, the company received a six-year venture loan from Alfa Bank, amounting to 3.7 billion rubles (some $54 million at the current exchange rate, a considerable sum by local standards). In addition to the share collateral, the bank has been granted an …
Russian online video platform ivi.ru secures giant venture loan from Alfa Bank Read More
After receiving a $40 million capital injection last year, Russian online video company ivi.ru has plans to go public this year, according to Kommersant. Unnamed industry sources told the business daily last week that the operation could take place on the NASDAQ by the end of this year with JP Morgan Chase underwriting the IPO. The ivi.ru …
Video streaming platform ivi.ru considers NASDAQ IPO this year Read More
Legionfarm, a Russian-founded platform for training and hiring professional gamers, has secured $1.5 million, the Kommersant business daily reported yesterday. The bulk of this amount, $1.4 million, was contributed by TMT Investments, a UK-headquartered venture fund backed by Russian businessmen, while the remaining $100,000 came from Denis Smetnev, a co-founder of Russian edtech startup SkyEng …
Legionfarm raises $1.5 million to develop coaching and hiring services for online games Read More
MEL Science, a UK online education service with Russian roots which aims to “engage kids into science,” has secured a $6 million round of funding. The deal was reported earlier this month by VC.RU, which cited exchanges with the investors. The funding came from two international venture funds with Russian roots, TMT Investments and Digital Horizon, …
UK edtech startup secures $6 million from Russian investors Read More
Russia has been ranked third worldwide in terms of the stability of its national Internet when facing possible breaches. Only the UK and U.S. networks are deemed to be more reliable. One of the main advantages of the Russian segment of the Internet, also known as RuNet, is its extensive infrastructure: there are more than …
Russia ranked 3rd worldwide in terms of Internet network stability Read More
Virool, a San Francisco-based video ad startup founded in 2011 by a Russian team, has closed a Series A round of $12 million. The funding, which comes from Menlo Ventures, Yahoo Japan, 500 Startups and Flint Capital, will accelerate the company’s North America, Latin America and Europe plans. The company also aims to develop across the APAC region “with the strategic sense of …
Video ad startup Virool raises $12 million to “make advertising human” Read More
Last week ScentBird, a New York-based startup founded by Russian émigrés, announced that it secured $2.8 million in venture funding. The investor consortium includes TMT Investments, a London-based fund with Russian connections, Vaizra Investments, the fund belonging to VKontakte founders Lev Leviev and Vyacheslav Mirilashvili, and Scrum Ventures, a US-based fund with interests in Asia, as well as Eclipse Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, and SGH …
Last week Moscow-based venture fund Titanium Investments announced that it has raised an additional $50 million to continue investing in Israel, Russia and other countries, with a focus on software-as-a-service, Internet of Things, virtual-reality and augmented-reality companies. “We see Titanium as a partner in addition to being an investor. We try to be really concerned in business processes,” stated the fund’s …
This week and next, East-West Digital News reviews the most important developments on the Russian high-tech scene in 2015. The series starts with an analysis of the key deals and trends that marked the venture market. 1. Russian funds continued to invest in international startups The invest-abroad trend among funds with Russian backers or managers, which began several …
TMT Investments, an LSE-listed fund with Russian backers, is participating in a $5 million round of additional funding for its portfolio company Depositphotos. The round is led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is investing via its Venture Capital Investment Programme. Agreed last month, the transaction will be completed until the end of the year. …
Russian venture fund Titanium Investments has injected $1 million in MUV Interactive, an Israel-based developer of innovative technologies for wearable interfaces. The investment, which will help the startup start serial production of Bird, its first product, took the form of a convertible loan, Russian business daily Kommersant reported today. The transaction brings the total amount raised by the startup …
