By Andrei Skvarsky.
Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has pledged to invest nearly $27m in a fund that venture capital firm Fort Ross Ventures is going to launch to provide early stage financing for up to 200 startups in Russia and other ex-Soviet countries.
Fort Ross Seed Fund, to have a maximum capital of 8bn roubles ($107m), would provide seed and Series A funding for startups seeking to develop international-scale business, according to a statement from Sberbank.
Startups based in countries outside former Soviet territory may receive support from the fund if such firms have Russian roots or plan to export their products or services to Russia, the statement said.
Sberbank has pledged to invest up to 2bn roubles ($26.7m) in what will be Fort Ross’s third fund.
Fort Ross, which has offices in Silicon Valley, Israel and Moscow, has committed a total of $345m to its funds, whose investors are individuals and corporations.
Fort Ross focuses on startups operating in fields such as financial and cloud technology, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and cybersecurity.
“We are willing,” said Sberbank chief executive Herman Gref, “not only to invest in [startups] but also to make our technological and operational achievements available for them to use.”
“We are willing to share our expertise with them, to order products and services from them, and to join forces with them in testing their new products and bringing them to the market,” he said.
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