Skolkovo ventures with China on $200m fund

The Skolkovo Foundation, the state-backed organisation managing the Skolkovo Innovation Centre, has capitalised on Russian-Sino relations with the creation of a new $200m university venturing fund to invest in companies based on Skolkovo technology.

The foundation partnered Cybernaut, a China-based investment group, to create the fund, which was announced following a signing between the two at a Russian-Chinese investment forum in Beijing earlier this month.

The move is part of a wider strategy for Russia to look east for much-needed investment following souring relations and economic sanctions with Europe and the US over the ongoing crisis in the Ukraine continue to impact on Russian finances.

Launched in 2009, Skolkovo is seen as a crucial element in pushing forward Russian innovation. Despite a strong scientific lineage, the country is typically lukewarm on harnessing the true potential of its inventions through utilising new technology in its ageing industries and abstaining from pursuing entrepreneurial activity.

Skolkovo is seeking to change this with a combination of government funding, corporate partnerships, and imported university know-how. The new fund will offer a significant branch of funding to further its mission to promote and develop cutting edge Russian technology and generate new high-tech businesses.

Since launching, the project has received $1.6bn to support construction, and the Russian government has earmarked a total of $4.2bn to support emerging startups from the site. When Global University Venturing spoke with Skolkovo last year, it had already seen $290m worth of investment into its spin-outs which numbered over 200 strong. It has also attracted leading tech firms such as Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco with tax breaks, some of which plan to open research and development centres to support the growing tech hub.

Skolkovo is also drawing on mentorship from Stanford and Cambridge to help establish the centre, which focuses on energy, space, nuclear, biomedical, and ICT technologies. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is also an official partner of Skolkovo, and is working in the area to build a university campus at the site, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, or SkolTech.

Du Hao, managing partner at Cybernaut, said: “We went to Skolkovo, to several Russian cities. We discovered that Russia has very good technology, and China has a good market. It is an excellent combination.”