Russia tightens control over foreign large-traffic sites and apps

September 23, 2021

A new law regulating the activity of foreign digital companies in Russia, adopted in early July, is already coming into force, as witnessed by several new orders issued last week by Roskomnadzor, the Internet and telecom regulator. Owners of websites, information systems, or electronic programs that generate a daily traffic of 500,000 users from Russia or more are required to open a …

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Russian mobile operator MTS to invest $100 million in AI startups across the world

October 11, 2021

MTS AI, the artificial intelligence arm of Russian telco MTS, is launching an international acceleration program and venture fund to invest in AI startups across the world. Dubbed ‘Intema,’ the platform plans to invest some $100 million in startups from late seed up to Series B. The investments focus on language, image and behavior analytics, edge computing and logistics, Alexey Posternak, CFO …

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This Siberian-born unicorn is now among the world’s top ride-hailing apps

September 23, 2021

A new unicorn emerged discretely earlier this year in the globalized Russian-speaking startup entrepreneur community. InDriver, a ride-hailing app founded in Yakutsk, Siberia, back in 2012, was valued at $1.23 billion as it raised $150 million this past February from leading North American funds. The deal remained undisclosed until last week, when InDriver’s founder Arsen …

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Court marshals visit Google’s Moscow office to enforce censorship decision

September 18, 2021

In the run-up to Russia’s parliamentary elections on Sept. 17-18-19, the Kremlin’s battle against online dissent brings new developments almost daily. Tech giants are not spared, with Google at the forefront earlier this week. Court marshals visited the company’s Moscow office to enforce an injunctive measure to remove the opposition-minded ‘Smart Voting’ site from search results. This …

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Russia to grant toll-free status to electric cars from 2022

September 14, 2021

Russian electric car drivers will be able to access toll roads at no cost starting from 2022 in a new trial experiment, the RBC news website reported Monday, citing a recently published draft government plan. The initiative, part of the new Development Concept for the Production and Use of Electric Automobile Transport signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on …

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Escaped killer of Russian meat magnate caught via facial recognition

September 14, 2021

The man accused of killing a Russian meat magnate in his sauna with a crossbow has been caught after escaping from jail, investigators said Tuesday.  Alexander Mavridi, who escaped from a pre-trial detention center in the Moscow region last month, was detained in the capital Tuesday after he was detected by the city’s facial-recognition surveillance cameras, the state-run TASS …

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New Russian fund intends to invest $100 million in AI/ML projects across Europe and Israel

September 14, 2021

The Russian investment club Promising Projects and the AI Cluster of the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok have teamed up to launch a $100 million fund focusing on AI, ML, data mathematics and cybersecurity. Dubbed ‘AI 1 Ventures’ and incorporated in Luxembourg, the new fund targets such areas as Eastern and Western Europe, including the Baltic states, as well as Israel. Tickets from $250,000 to $5 …

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Russia’s prosecutor writes to Apple and Google CEOs, foreign affairs ministry summons US ambassador over “election interference”

September 18, 2021

In the run-up to Russia’s Sept. 17-19 parliamentary elections, as the authorities have been purging the field of almost all genuine opposition politicians, the battle against dissent is also raging online. In recent weeks, among other measures, the authorities barred dozens of websites linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, including his main website navalny.com. They had Yandex …

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Russia’s Hermitage experiments with NFTs, “an aesthetic of possession”

September 10, 2021

Russia’s Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s largest art collection, has sold digital copies of several masterpieces in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT). The auction, in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Binance, took place from August 31 to September 7. A limited series of NFTs were brought out, featuring digital reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna Litta,  Giorgione’s Judith, Vincent van Gogh’s Lilac …

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Cian, Delimobil target New York IPOs this autumn

November 9, 2021

Russian car-sharing major Delimobil and online real estate classifieds leader Cian are considering US IPOs this autumn, hoping to raise around $350 million each, according to “financial market sources” cited by Reuters on Tuesday.  Delimobil, which announced a $75 million private equity round this past June, is now eyeing a $350 million listing on the New York Stock Exchange and a …

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Western-funded KupiVIP shuts down after 13-year e-commerce story

September 13, 2021

On Sept. 1 KupiVIP, once a top Russian fashion site, and its affiliate Mamsy.ru, wound up their operations Sept. 1, unable to compete with Russia’s new generation of online retail giants. “For 13 years we made you happy with each purchase [but] our story is over now,” says a statement posted on the KupiVIP site. …

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