GenerationS-2016 has started

GenerationS Press Service

On July 7, the official launch of the largest accelerator of technological projects in Russia and Eastern Europe, GenerationS-2016, took place in Moscow.

Over the three years of its existence, GenerationS has grown from the format of a regular startup accelerator and has become an all-Russian platform for the development of tools for interaction between corporations and startups. The project has formed its own ecosystem of corporations, technology entrepreneurs, innovation development institutes, venture funds, business angels, regional acceleration programs, business incubators, universities, research organizations and other market participants.

GenerationS-2016 accelerators will be organized in eight industry areas (tracks) with the participation of the following partners:

• Mining&Metals (new technologies in the field of precious metals processing and mining), the industrial partner is JSC Krastsvetmet, the partner of the track is AK ALROSA, the track operator is the Innovative Infrastructure of the Ural Federal University (UrFU). Information partners – Expert-Ural magazine, Interfax-Ural News Agency.
• AgroBioTech&Food (biotechnologies for improving the efficiency of agriculture and food industry), industrial partner – EFKO Group of Companies, operator – Kuban State Technological University (KubSTU). The partner of the track's youth program is Skolkovo Open University (OtUS).
• SmartCity ("smart" city and urban planning technologies), industrial partners – the MORTON Group of Companies and the Russian Technical Society, the track operator – Rusbase.
• Creative Industries (new media, entertainment industry, fashion, design, social entrepreneurship), industrial partner – the company "Sher Oston", partner of the track – Design factory "Bottle", the operator of the track – the company MT by Maria Tikhonova. Information partners – AMEDIA Group, Radio "Seeker".
• Finance&Banking Technologies (electronic interaction in the financial market, financial solutions for businesses, retail and institutional investors, insurance companies and banks), industrial partners – Moscow Exchange Group, QIWI, track operator – RIS Ventures. General Information Partner – News Agency Bankir.Ru .
• LiveScience (biomedicine projects), industrial partner – Biopharmaceutical cluster "Severny", operator – LLC "KSI Ventures".
• TechNet (advanced manufacturing technologies), industrial partner – JSC NPO Saturn, partner – PJSC Rostelecom, operator – StartupSamara Regional Institute for Innovation Development.
• Power&Energy (solutions in the field of energy and the development of personal sources and energy storage), industrial partner – JSC "Irkutsk Electric Grid Company", operator – LLC "Lermontov-innovations".

A specialized program has been developed for each track by RVC, the industrial partner and the operator, taking into account the industry orientation of the projects and the business objectives of the partner corporation.

The global partner of GenerationS-2016 is Vilnius Tech Park (Lithuania), which will support the accelerator participants in bringing projects to international markets. The development partner, the Innovation Assistance Fund, allocates grants to the best GenerationS projects within the framework of the SMART GUY and START programs.

The search for projects to participate in the accelerator is carried out through the GenerationS regional partner network, which includes more than 250 government organizations and commercial companies. Corporate employees will be directly involved in the selection, examination and acceleration of startups participating in GenerationS.

In 2016, GenerationS will be held for the first time in two parallel streams: for mature projects and early-stage projects (pre-sowing and sowing). Late–stage projects will be able to apply for participation in one of the directions of corporate acceleration GenerationS, and for early-stage projects a Pre-accelerator will be held - the federal program for training startups to participate in corporate tracks GenerationS. This is a set of online and offline activities aimed at improving the quality of projects and bringing them to the next stage of development.

The main stages of GenerationS-2016:

From June 7 to October 15, technological projects submit applications for participation in GenerationS on the website www.generation-startup.ru by choosing the stage of project development and one of the industry directions.

From November 2016 to July 2017, a Pre-accelerator will be held for early-stage projects, including two stages: online and offline. As part of the online program, participants will watch a series of training video lectures, receive recommendations on the formation of a business model for their projects, and refine them in accordance with the knowledge they have gained. The full-time program for the top 100 startups will allow you to take an intensive course from a series of master classes, consultations, meetings with successful entrepreneurs. In addition, this program will help to find mentors, in individual work with whom participants will conduct a detailed study of the business component of their projects, as well as develop product prototypes at technologically equipped infrastructure sites, such as fabs, CMITs, etc.

From November 2016 to February 2017, GenerationS corporate acceleration programs will be held for late-stage projects, which include: a series of seminars and master classes from industry experts, visits to production facilities of partner corporations, meetings with successful industry entrepreneurs and investors, work with mentors, individual consultations and practical tasks. The purpose of this stage is to help teams refine their product in constant interaction with a potential customer, test the business model and prepare the project for successful market launch. At the end of each accelerator, a Demo Day will be held, at which projects will be presented to the investment committee and the scientific and technical council of the partner corporation, where a decision will be made on further work with each accelerator graduate project.

In March 2017, the GenerationS superfinal will be held, at which the Members of the Board of Trustees will choose the winners. They will share the prize fund of 15,000,000 rubles, and will also receive prizes from accelerator partners and the opportunity to continue working with corporate partners to introduce their developments into their production processes, or investments in product development and refinement.

According to Gulnara Bikkulova, Deputy General Director of RVC, "For three years GenerationS has been one of the drivers of the development of high-tech entrepreneurship culture in Russia, forming a unique ecosystem of startups, corporations, venture funds and other market participants. Among the key tasks of GenerationS in 2016 is to create an effective platform for the development of corporate acceleration institutions in Russia. Our industrial partners, Russian corporations, are helping us in this, who will act as mentors and project experts throughout the project, helping young entrepreneurs prepare for the successful launch of their products on the market."

"The IMI Foundation.VC and Vilnius Tech Park joined GenerationS in 2016 as a Global Partner. We will be happy to share our experience with young entrepreneurs and support talented teams on the way to the successful launch and scaling of their business around the world," said Igor Matsanyuk, founder of the venture fund IMI.VC .

Sergey Polyakov, CEO of the Innovation Promotion Foundation, outlined the main results of past accelerators and shared plans for further cooperation: "Since 2014, the Foundation has been giving grants to the best GenerationS projects. Since the beginning of joint work, the number of projects funded by the Fund has increased by more than 4.5 times. As a development partner, the Innovation Promotion Foundation is particularly pleased to observe the evolution of the unique GenerationS accelerator."

GenerationS is the largest accelerator of technological projects in Russia and Eastern Europe and the first federal platform for the creation and development of corporate acceleration tools. RVC has been held since 2013. In 2013, RVC launched the first federal-scale accelerator, startup teams from Russian regions and neighboring countries took an online course on the basics of technological entrepreneurship and a full-time acceleration program, gaining practical skills on how to create and sell their project. In 2014, the first industry accelerators were launched in the areas of Industrial (industrial solutions), IT (information technology), BiotechMed (biotechnology and medicine), CleanTech (energy efficiency and resource conservation). GenerationS-2015 gathered a record number of applications – from 2566 projects from 14 countries. 141 projects were selected to participate in corporate accelerators in 7 areas. More than 20 Russian corporations became customers and industrial partners of GenerationS, in whose interests the selection and acceleration of projects was carried out.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  08.07.2016