Skolkovo residents that have received a Microsoft seed fund grant are now eligible to receive a matching grant from the Skolkovo Foundation. The news was announced in a press conference last week by the foundation’s president Viktor Vekselberg and Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, who at the same time announced further plans for collaboration to support innovative startups in Russia.
The Skolkovo Foundation is the state sponsored enterprise behind the development of a state of the art innovation hub near Moscow.
The Microsoft Russia seed fund, operating for less than one year now, intends to invest some $10 million into 100 Russian startup companies over a 10 year period.
Skolkovo residents will also be able to register for the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS) for just $329 annually for a 10 person subscription instead of the $20,000 price that it would normally cost. MAPS provides access to a wide variety of software for internal analysis and tests, including licenses for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, Windows 7 Professional and a full range of other Microsoft products, along with free technical support.
In addition, Skolkovo residents will be offered the opportunity to join the Microsoft Partner Network for free as members of the Skolkovo community. Members of the Microsoft Partner Network can take advantage of business consulting services and even have their products and services listed on Microsoft’s online catalogues, giving them access to thousands of potential clients.
Speereo, an award winning company developing speech recognition and voice command systems, was the first Skolkovo resident to benefit from this joint support program. In an official program ceremony, a Speereo representative received a check for 1,500,000 rubles, or approximately $50,000, from the Microsoft seed fund and a matching grant from the Skolkovo Foundation.
Microsoft is also to maintain a permanent organizational presence in Skolkovo in the form of a center for research and software development, Vekselberg announced, calling the US company a ‘strategic partner’ in the Skolkovo initiative.
Sources: Skolkovo Foundation, RIA Novosti
