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BVP Forms Alliance With Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation

By TechTaffy Desk

[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

The Skolkovo Foundation and Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in which BVP set a $20 million target for investments into Skolkovo resident companies over the next two years.

The MOU was signed by Alexander Lupachev, chief of Skolkovo Foundation’s Investment Service, and Ed Colloton, BVP’s chief operating officer, while in attendance at the Global Technology Symposium being held in Menlo Park, in California’s Silicon Valley.

Key details of the MOU include:

  • BVP sets a target of $20 million for investments in Skolkovo resident companies over the next two years
  • BVP will receive priority access to the Skolkovo Foundation project pipeline, and can select the most promising projects in which to invest
  • BVP will have the opportunity to refer its existing portfolio companies to register in Skolkovo and receive Skolkovo Foundation’s support

BVP has been active in Russia since 2005, with investments in Parallels, KupiVIP and Enforta. The MOU is building on success of Parallels, which established its presence in Skolkovo and received $5 million of non-dilutive grant financing from the Skolkovo Foundation, says BVP.

With the signing of the MOU, Skolkovo now partners with more than 30 Russian and international venture companies. The Skolkovo Foundation has the mandate from the Russian Government to form strategic partnerships with leading scientists and corporations (currently numbering over 350 companies and start-ups). The Foundation aims to strengthen the links between Russian and international science, technology, education, entrepreneurship and investment communities. The Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in May 2010 by the Russian Government with a grant of $5 billion.

The Global Technology Symposium is an investment conference on venture capital, technology and entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

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