MegaFon, a major Russian mobile operator and retailer, has increased its stake in video service Start to 50%, as reported by business daily Kommersant. The move follows the acquisition of 33.8% of the company, announced in October 2020. The valuation of the startup — which was founded in 2017 — could reach or exceed 4 billion rubles (some …
Russian telecom majors MegaFon and MTS invest in the startup space Read More
Elbrus Capital, a leading private equity firm focusing on Russia and neighboring countries, has attracted $260 million to launch its third fund. As reported by business daily Kommersant, the firm aims to raise $600 million in total until the end 2022 for this new fund, which will focus on Russian digital companies. The first deals are …
Earlier this month Dating Group, a Russian-founded international dating major, announced the acquisition of French dating app Once for $18 million in cash and stock. Founded in 2015 by Jean Meyer and Clémentine Lalande, Once aims to “brings back the magic to the online dating world.” It claims 9 million users, 5 million chats daily and 50 million …
Dating Group acquires French ‘slow dating’ app Once for $18 million Read More
Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. The latest column, by EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni, highlights the most notable industry facts and trends of the past year. These include, in particular: Major moves from the three Russian digital leaders: Mail.ru …
Citrix Systems announced today an agreement to acquire Wrike, a leader in SaaS collaborative work management, for $2.25 billion in cash. Still subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the first half of this year. “The transaction unites leading workspace delivery platform with best-in-class SaaS work management solution, ushering in new era of employee productivity. This combination …
Kamaz, the Russian truck giant (part of the state-owned Rostec corporation), and Pulsar VC, an established Russian venture firm, announce an international startup scouting partnership focusing on mobility and IoT. The companies said they will “jointly search for new markets in the transport sector and attract investment in start-ups.” They may also consider “creating a …
Russian truck giant Kamaz aims to scout startups across the world Read More
Just days after Alexey Navalny’s arrest in the Moscow airport and the publication of his killer video on “Putin’s palace,” a digital rebellion is underway in Russia, involving millions of teenagers and elder users of social media. As of Jan. 21, the investigative video on the luxury mansion had broken all records, garnering more than 50 million …
TraceAir, a construction software startup with Russian roots, announces the completion of its Series A $3.5 million round. It was led by London-based XTX Ventures with participation from Liquid 2 Ventures, GEM Capital, GPS Ventures, Andrew Filev (CEO Wrike), Metropolis.VC (which invested in a previous round) as well as US construction industry majors Independent Construction and ENGEO. TraceAir has developed a cloud platform to help construction companies …
Motorica, a Moscow-based high-tech prosthetic startup, has attracted 300 million rubles (some $4 million at the current exchange rate) from two major government funds: the sovereign wealth fund RDIF and the Far-East High Technology Fund. The news was reported yesterday by business publication RBC, which cited exchanges with the Far-East fund’s press service. Touting itself as “the only company in the world to make …
Moscow startup receives $4 million from state funds to develop high-tech prostheses Read More
As digitalization accelerates cross all sectors of the economy, many businesses are putting online marketing and digital advertising at the core of their strategy for customer acquisition and engagement. MTS, Russia’s largest mobile operator and a leading provider of media and digital services, carried out a survey of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Russia …
Survey: Russian SMEs rapidly shifting to online advertising Read More
Last month, according to media reports, Russian DNA testing company Genotek raised $4 million in a funding round led by Yandex. No information was disclosed about the other investors or the terms of the deal, and Genotek did not answer EWDN’s media inquiries. The company, founded in 2010, says it partners with “leadings Russian and European research institutes in the field of genetics and …
Sber, Russia’s state-controlled financial and tech giant (previously known as Sberbank), is considering the acquisition of Citilink.ru alongside some other assets of the Merlion group. The discussions were reported by business daily Kommersant but not confirmed by the parties. Selling electronic appliances and a variety of other products, Citilink is among the top Russian e-commerce sites. It was number two …
Sber said to be in talks with Merlion on major e-commerce acquisition Read More
