East-West Digital News

Swedish, Malaysian and French investors back Russian startups

September 16, 2020 September 20, 2020

Russian startup NaPopravku (“for cure”), an online service for medical appointments, has raised $2.25 million for further domestic expansion and mobile developments, reported industry publication Rusbase. The investor pool includes the Russian investment holding Avenir, which has a variety of tech companies in its portfolio; the Swedish VC fund VNV, which is renowned for its …

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Russian venture trends: The impact of Covid-19 and the rise of open innovation (online event, Sept. 23)

September 15, 2020 September 17, 2020

On Sept. 23, venture analytics agency Dsight will hold an online event to present its latest report on Russian venture activity and discuss industry trends. Special attention will be brought to such topics as: The rise of open innovation and corporate tech scouting in Russia; The implications of COVID-19 for the venture capital industry in …

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MTS corporate fund invests in financial app Coinkeeper

September 14, 2020 September 14, 2020

The corporate venture fund of MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator, is investing 125 million rubles (around $1.7 million at the current exchange rate) in personal finance app Coinkeeper. Coinkeeper claims 350,000 users all over the world whom it helps “make the right financial decisions” from expense forecasting, to advanced analytics, to the management of …

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Pilot blockchain system ensures integrity of crucial steps of the voting process – but authorities keep the last word

September 12, 2020 September 14, 2020

During three days, from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September, voters from 83 Russian regions are being called to elect members of local parliaments and, in certain cases, regional governors as well as federal-level deputies. More than 9,000 local campaigns took place in what observers see as a key test for the country’s pro-Putin ruling …

Pilot blockchain system ensures integrity of crucial steps of the voting process – but authorities keep the last word Read More

The Untitled aims to raise €50 million to bridge Eastern European startups with Western Europe

September 10, 2020 July 14, 2021

The Untitled, a Russian venture firm established in 2013, is raising a new vehicle to invest across Eastern Europe with a focus on the former Soviet Union. With a €50 million target, the new fund will seek to invest at the seed and pre-Series A stages in such segments as B2B software, robotics, artificial intelligence, …

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Mail.ru Group and Sberbank invest again in food delivery

September 9, 2020 November 12, 2020

Mail.ru Group and Sberbank are increasing their stake in food delivery service Local Kitchen (‘Kukhnya na rayone’) through their joint venture O2O. After the acquisition of a 30% share in May for nearly $3.9 million, O2O is to own 84.7% of the company after deal completion scheduled for Q4 2020. Some of Local Kitchen’ services are …

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Yandex offers Russian and US students “a starter pack to break into tech”

September 9, 2020 September 9, 2020

Yandex, the Russian Internet giant, is developing an international education platform to train data analysts, data scientists, web developers and other IT specialists. Dubbed ‘Practicum,’ the platform is touted as a “practice-oriented, job-landing bootcamp,” starting with a free 20-hour intro course. After initial roll out in Russia last year, Practicum was made available in English, targeting the US market, …

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Target Global bets on Russo-Estonian startup “to disrupt crypto payments”

September 8, 2020 September 8, 2020

Last week Mercuryo.io, a Russian-founded startup based in Estonia, announced the completion of its first round of funding, having received €2.5 million from Target Global. Mercuryo.io has built a cross-border cryptocurrency payment network for businesses – allowing for transactions from and to anywhere in the world. This infrastructure offers solutions for virtual accounts, business payments, …

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Developing artificial intelligence in Russia: Objectives and realities

September 7, 2020 September 15, 2020

Russia’s leaders have been paying close attention to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for several years now. President Vladimir Putin has said on numerous occasions that the leader in the field of AI would become “the master of the world.” Until recently, however, Russia remained virtually the only large country without its own AI development strategy. …

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Yandex and Uber form dedicated company for self-driving business

September 5, 2020 September 6, 2020

Yandex and Uber yesterday announced agreements to spin off their self-driving vehicle business from Yandex.Taxi, the taxi-hailing and food tech joint venture they formed three years ago. The spin-off, dubbed ‘Yandex Self Driving Group B.V.’ or ‘Yandex SDG,’ will be directly owned by Yandex and Uber. The NASDAQ-listed Russian Internet giant will invest $150 million in the new company, on …

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Russian 3D scan provider secures $1.5 million to “digitize the entire planet”

September 3, 2020 September 4, 2020

Two major Russian corporate funds, Rusnano Sistema and the IIDF, have just announced an investment in Texel, a startup which has designed an advanced 3D scan technology. The capital injection, which amounts to 110 million rubles, or $1.46 million at the current exchange rate, will be used to boost Texel’s international expansion. Over the past two years, …

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Digital Horizon invests in African healthcare startup

August 31, 2020 August 31, 2020

While the USA and Western Europe are the most usual playing ground for VC funds with Russian connections, there are some exceptions. Digital Horizon, an investment company with offices in London, Moscow and Tel Aviv, announced an investment in Healthlane, an African startup providing healthcare services in Nigeria and Cameroon. Healthlane’s approach combines remote and face-to-face health …

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