Online micro-course platform Coursmos has received $600,000 in seed investment in a deal led by Altera Capital Group with participation from Imperious Group. Coursmos has now raised a total of $1.2 million in investment since it was launched in March 2014. Coursmos offers 11,000 micro-courses across 20 areas, generating profit through user subscription fees of $8.88 per month. The project …
A Russian startup funded by two of Russia’s largest nanotech centers, Dubna just outside Moscow and Sygma.Novosibirsk from Siberia, has developed what appears to be a brand new charging device for a variety of portable gadgets, Rusnanonet.ru reported. The innovation draws upon the principles of hydrogen energy. The HandyPower charger is said to enable the …
Russian startup can charge your cell phone with water Read More
Preply, a platform to find foreign language tutors for home or Skype lessons, has just entered the Polish market with a localized version of its website. Launched in 2012 by Kirill Bigai, Serge Lukianov and Dmytro Voloshyn, the startup initially developed across the Ukrainian, Russian, Belarussian and Kazakhstani markets.
Startups dealing with computer graphics and so-called gamification will now be able to apply for Skolkovo grants and residency under new plans for 2015 published by the IT cluster. Graphics and gamification form one of three new technology foresights added to the cluster’s strategic development vision this year. The other two, robotics and mobile technology, …
Graphics and gamification enter Skolkovo IT cluster crosshairs for 2015 Read More
A Russian web site that served as a support group for LGBT teenagers has been blacklisted by the authorities and will likely be blocked within the country, news reports said Monday. The site’s name Deti-404 (Children-404), after the online HTTP error message for “page not found,” may prove portentous if Russia’s Internet watchdog Roskomnadzor considers the site to be in violation of a federal law that regulates online …
Groupon, which began operating in Russia in 2010, has asserted itself since then as a leader in the Russian coupon sales market. The site has also developed a cross-border business, selling virtually anything from smartphones to tableware and cappuccinators to Russian consumers. Erik Bosgoed, head of logistics at Groupon International GMBH Switserland, explained to East-West …
In late 2014 Okko (formerly Play), a leading player on the Russian VOD market, launched the country’s first Ultra HD 4K video service. The solution, developed in partnership with LG Electronics, was designed to meet the requirements of Hollywood studios for content protection, giving Okko the opportunity to work with original content filmed in 4K …
Okko launches first UHD movies on Russian VOD market Read More
SDI Research, a Moscow-based “semantic data integrator,” will receive a $335,000 grant from Skolkovo for the development of a next-gen semantic master data management (MDM) system to store and sync data. A reported by the Skolkovo Foundation, the effort will require an estimated $670,000 overall. The developer is expected to raise the remaining 50% from other …
Next-gen data management system to emerge in Russia Read More
The Russia’s government has signed an anti-crisis plan to restructure the economy in part through innovations, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told a meeting of regional officials on Wednesday. Russian news agency TASS reported that plan will require 1.375 trillion rubles (approximately $20 billion at the current exchange rate), including budget expenditures, state guarantees and …
Illustrating the relative resilience of the Russian e-commerce market amid the current economic turmoil, leading flash sales platform KupiVIP.ru reported a 44% revenue increase year-on-year in Q4 2014. The company attributes this growth to consumers switching from traditional and online retail to discount-based sites. Sales also grew due to the development of the site’s cross-border …
KupiVIP.ru close to break-even, reports 44% year-on-year sales growth in Q4 2014 Read More
Moscow Seed Fund, the venture arm of the Moscow City authorities, is concluding its first three-year investment cycle. In partnership with Softline Venture Partners, the fund supports venture investors in financing small businesses in the science and technology sector. It backed startups Context Broker and AppStarter at the end of 2012 and early 2013 respectively. Both startups have …
The average American knows about Buzzfeed, Home Depot, and Vimeo; their sites are gaining about as much traffic in the US as Yandex.ru, which most Americans wouldn’t recognize. According to the most recent results from SimilarWeb, two major Russian websites Yandex and Vkontakte ranked in the top 100 US websites for 2014. Vkontakte, Russia’s leading social …
