UK-based startup Bioniq raised $15 million in two phases last year: in July, it agreed a $7.2 million investment from Medsi (in exchange for a 25% stake in a Russian subsidiary); later in 2020, OKS Group brought in another $7.8 million.
Owned by Sistema, a major Russian conglomerate, Medsi is a leading Russian healthcare chain. Luxembourg-based OKS Group is a large media- and technology‑focused investment group operating in Russia and beyond.
Offering a “journey to better health,” Bioniq provides personalized nutritional, lifestyle and activity plans. These include the delivery of daily supplements consisting of up to 120 vitamins and minerals, based on regular analysis of blood tests, with private consultations from qualified nutritionists.
“We offer such personalized services and products in the UK, Russia and the UAE, as well as the USA where we are in pilot stage. Meanwhile, non-personalized products are shipped globally: we have clients in a variety of places, from Brazil to Hong Kong,” Bioniq CEO Vadim Fedotov told East-West Digital News.
From basketball championships to startup entrepreneurship
Fedotov, 35, has an unusual background — from professional basketball, to media management, to startup investment and entrepreneurship. Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), he moved to Germany then to the US in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, he was a member of Germany’s national basketball team, but stopped his sports career due to injuries.
In 2011 — the early days of Russia’ startup ecosystem — he was hired by Groupon Russia to lead the sales department, before becoming CEO in 2012. In 2015 Fedotov joined Gazprom Media Technologies to head RuTube.
The former sportsman then turned business angel, investing in Russian DIY marketplace GdeMaterial and in laboratory analysis service Go Lab.
Fedotov co-founded Bioniq Health-Solutions Ltd in 2019 with medical director Constantin Karuzin and Boris Kofman. Bioniq established its head office in London while its R&D team operates from Luxembourg.
Bioniq never raised funding from external sources before the capital infusions of last year, Fedotov told East-West Digital News.
