Eastern Europe / Tech
NEO: Samolet launches ecosystem for Russian real estate market
Russian real estate developer Samolet Group has launched a digital platform that enables customers to handle all their property-related needs in one place, as companies across industries develop their online ecosystems.
VK acquires edtech businesses in Russia and Brazil
In the past few months, Russian Internet major VK (previously Mail.ru Group) demonstrated a strong appetite for online education — both in Russia and abroad.
“A new Dreyfus affair:” Ilya Sachkov asks President Putin to be transferred from jail to house arrest
Ilya Sachkov, the top cybersecurity businessman who was arrested under charges of “state treason” in late September, has claimed he is innocent and asked President Putin to be transferred from jail to house arrest during the investigation.
Russian-founded incident management tool Amixr acquired by US major Grafana Labs
US open source software platform Grafana Labs has acquired a Russian-founded startup called Amixr. Launched in 2019, this company has developed an incident management platform that allows DevOps and SRE engineers to “optimize channels, recipients"
Rostec releases anti-spying and hacker protected smartphone
A smartphone with the function of mechanically disabling the camera and microphone running on a Russian operating system will be supplied to security forces and the state sector. A version of the device with Android 11 is already available in Russia.
New ESG Innovation Index praises Moscow city’s “tremendously effective public transport” and numerous edtech entrepreneurs
Moscow ranks second among Europe’s largest cities in the ‘Future City ESG Innovation Index,’ put together by Munich-based think tank DEEP Ecosystems.
Russian digital banking giant Tinkoff acquires payment automation service Jump.Finance
Tinkoff, the Russian digital banking giant, has taken control of Just Look, the company behind the Jump.Finance payment automation service. Tinkoff purchased a 51% stake under undisclosed terms.
Russia’s e-commerce trade growth expected to slow to 10% in 2021
The volume of Russia’s e-commerce trade is expected to slow to 10% in 2021 after it expanded by the pandemic lockdown bump of 59% in 2020, Russian Online Retail Association (AKIT) President Artyom Sokolov told Russian newswire PRIME.
Tech giant Yandex shakes up UK market with ultrafast grocer Yango Deli
The ultrafast format is taking cities by storm. Evgeny Chernikov, general manager of Yango Deli UK, talks about the company’s recent launch in London, what ultrafast groceries will look like in the future, and Yango Deli's plan to succeed.
Fans revive Durov brothers’ failed cryptocurrency
Toncoin was originally the brainchild of Russia’s social media tycoons the Durov brothers. It was taken over by an open community of developers, and is now worth upwards of $20bn.
NEMETHY: Is bitcoin the new gold?
Much has been written about how bitcoin has taken lustre and market share from gold over the past decade. But has the death of gold been much exaggerated?
Sber to open R&D centre in Berlin “to expand horizons in machine learning”
Sber, the Russian financial and digital giant, is preparing to open an R&D centre in Berlin – its first one in Western Europe.
Emerging markets IT giant Softline sets final offer price in IPO
International digital transformation and cybersecurity solution provider Softline has a total market capitalisation of around $1.5bn.
Car-sharing major Delimobil fully covers books on IPO
The Russian car-sharing major is eyeing a potential valuation of over $900mn when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange.
Russian car-sharing major Delimobil files for listing in New York
Delimobil Holding SA, a Luxembourg-registered, Moscow-based car-sharing company, filed for listing on the New York Stock Exchange on October 8.
Ten years after start in Ukraine, GitLab lands on Nasdaq at $11bn valuation
GitLab (‘GTLB’), a San Francisco-based open-source software startup founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Dmitry Zaporozhets and Dutch-born Sid Sijbrandij, made its debut on the Nasdaq at a valuation of $11bn on October 14.
Russian internet major Yandex adds London to foodtech expansion
Russia’s ultrafast grocery delivery service Yango Deli that can get goods to customers in under 15 minutes has launched in London, the company said in a press release on October 14.
Mail.ru Group pursues gaming acquisitions across Russia and Belarus
Mail.ru Group’s appetite for acquisitions in the gaming space was confirmed again today as My.Games Venture Capital (MGVC), the investment arm of its subsidiary My.Games, announced minority investments in three game studios.
Russian venture market reached $1bn in 1H21
Dsight, a Moscow-based business intelligence company with a focus on investment, has just released the English version of its Russian venture report covering the first half of 2021.
Facebook and Google exposed to record fines for not removing unlawful content in Russia
Russia could impose record fines on Facebook and Google (held responsible for YouTube) for not removing prohibited content. Since these companies are accused of repeated violations, fines could be in the range of 1/20 to 1/10 of the yearly revenues.
