Skolkovo, the state-sponsored innovation hub under construction near Moscow, last week opened its American beachhead in Silicon Valley together with Rusnano, a state-owned corporation, and Russian Venture Company (RVC), the state-owned fund of funds dedicated to innovation.
The new Russian Innovation Center will serve as the representative office in the U.S. for the three Russian organizations. It will promote and coordinate high-tech partnerships and scientific cooperation in the IT, biomedicine, energy efficiency, nanotech, nuclear, and aerospace sectors among top Russian and American companies, venture capital firms, and academic and scientific institutions.
“We are bringing Silicon Valley know-how and entrepreneurial spirit to Russia to create globally competitive products and services based on cutting-edge research, while also sharing our knowledge and experience with companies here,” said Alexei Sitnikov, director of international development at the Skolkovo Foundation.
Sitnikov is optimistic that the new Russian Innovation Center will expedite partnership discussions currently underway between Skolkovo and IBM, Google, and several other leading California innovators.
Joining Sitnikov to announce the Center’s opening were Bay Area venture capitalist Alexandra Johnson and representatives of Cisco and Microsoft, as well as several prominent Silicon Valley VC investors.
“Skolkovo’s main goal for cooperating with Western venture funds is not search of capital. We seek expertise on how to grow high-tech companies and transferable management experience,” said Alexandra Johnson, who serves as an advisor to Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg.
A partnership with Stanford
Skolkovo also announced it has agreed with Stanford University to develop joint research projects. Last year, Stanford professor and Nobel Laureate Roger Kornberg became Co-Chairman of the Skolkovo Academic Board.
On Friday, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Skolkovo with a group of 40 students from Stanford University. Earlier this month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden toured Skolkovo’s future campus during his visit to Russia.
Sources: The Skolkovo Foundation, RIA Novosti
