Navigine, a Russian-American startup that develops indoor navigation and tracking systems, has just raised $900,000 in funding from a pool of Russian, Finnish and US investors represented by Finnish investment firm Innovestor.
Among these backers is US angel investor John Ason, who was Navigine’s mentor in a Russian accelerator program in New York last year, reports the Skolkovo Foundation.
The startup’s earlier investors at the seed stage include Russian investment firm AYR and the fund Starta Capital.
The Navigine platform allows developers and system integrators to create a variety of indoor navigation and tracking services — from tracking goods in warehouses and factories to analyzing visitors’ behavior in stores and museums, and sending them targeted marketing messages.
From Moscow to New York
Navigine claims that its solutions have been implemented in more than 500 projects in 20 countries including Russia, Western Europe, and the USA.
“Navigine is the market leader in Russia and has a growing international customer base,” according to Innovestor, which expects the startup to accelerate its development in the US and Western European markets.
Navigine was born in Russia in 2011, and still has its R&D team in Moscow — it is a resident company of Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of the Russian capital. However, the company is incorporated in the USA, like many other startups with Russian roots. Navigine opened a sales office in Berlin in 2015 and moved its headquarters to New York in 2016.
Sources: CrunchBase, Navigine, Skolkovo Foundation
