BlaBlaCar, the carpooling giant born in France, is expanding to a new market segment with the acquisition of international bus ticketing platform Busfor. The deal, announced in September, has just been completed after obtaining the required antitrust permits in Ukraine, reports Kyiv Post. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but it might …
BlaBlaCar completes acquisition of bus ticketing platform Busfor Read More
On December 5, the U.S. government formally indicted members of the Russian hacker group “Evil Corp.” Washington says these men are behind “the world’s most egregious cyberattacks,” causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to banks. The Justice Department believes Evil Corp’s leader is Maxim Yakubets, who remains at large and was still actively involved in hacking activities …
Amazon Prime has purchased the European distribution rights for Konstantin Bogomolov’s television series ‘Soderzhanki’ (translated as “Gold Diggers”). The show will be available with German subtitles later this month and French subtitles in January 2020. Amazon Prime has bought the rights to other Russian TV shows before, but this will be the first Russian production presented as part of Amazon Originals and Exclusives, …
Amazon Prime acquires distribution rights for Russian TV series Read More
Last month EightyDays, a US startup born in Belarus, secured an undisclosed amount in a seed round of funding from Artem Lebedev. The famous Russian designer saw in this startup’s technology “an incredible, fantastic, extraordinary new way of making travel bookings online” (see video). EightyDays has created a multi-destination booking service intended for international travellers planning a …
Russian designer invests in US startup to reinvent online travel booking Read More
Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and neighboring countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Since January 2019, EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni has offered a monthly column to highlight the most notable industry facts and trends as well as promising tech innovations from these countries. The November review highlights moves …
Andrey Kaganskikh, a journalist for MBK Media, has found that access to Moscow’s surveillance cameras and their new facial recognition technology is being sold on the black market. As of the beginning of 2019, there were more than 170,000 surveillance cameras installed in Moscow. They are posted in courtyards, lobbies, parks, schools, clinics, malls, construction sites, and, of course, government …
Last week Igor Ryabenkiy, the founder of VC firm Altair Capital, announced plans to launch a third, $200 million fund. Three quarters of this amount have already been committed by five unnamed investors, Ryabenkiy claimed in an interview with Inc. Russia. Targeting startups at the seed and early stages, Altair has invested in more than …
Altair Capital targets $200 million to launch third fund Read More
With more than 7,000 visitors and 180 exhibitors expected, E-Commerce Berlin Expo is the biggest pure-play e-commerce event in the (tech) capital city of Germany. In its 5th edition, the fair will take place in Station Berlin on February 13, 2020. The expo brings together the top players in the e-commerce industry, thus offering online sellers and retailers …
Top brands and thousands of e-commerce professionals to meet in Berlin (Feb. 13, 2020) Read More
RVC, the Russian state-owned fund of funds dedicated to innovation, and RZD (Russian Railways) have teamed up to launch to two venture funds for industrial and digital investments. Scheduled for launch in 2021, the funds will support early-stage projects which have “the potential of developing synergies with the railways company and increasing its business efficiency.” …
Russian Railways teams up with RVC to launch transport tech funds Read More
US and British law enforcement officials announced charges Thursday against two Russian nationals they think are responsible for separate global hacking schemes. Some of the largest pieces of malware ever seen were deployed to swipe tens of millions of dollars from the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims. Officials identified those charged as Maksim Yakubets of Moscow and …
US and UK accuse two Russian nationals of causing tens of millions in hacking damages Read More
Sberbank, the Russian state-controlled financial and technological giant, is making its first steps on the young and vibrant market of driverless vehicles. The bank announced last week its partnership with Cognitive Technologies, a Russian software corporation that develops AI-based driver assistance systems. Founded in 1993, this company offers a variety of components for unmanned vehicles …
Sberbank enters driverless car market, posing a new challenge to Yandex Read More
A Kyiv (Kiev)-based venture fund, Genesis Investments , has just injected $1 million in Russian-founded edtech startup IntellectoKids. The news was reported earlier this week by Rusbase, which cited exchanges with the startup’s press service. The details of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2016, IntellectoKids presents itself as a media, entertainment and education platform for parents and …
Ukrainian fund puts $1 million in Russian-founded edtech startup Read More
