An American venture is coming to us
For the first time in the history of modern Russia, a delegation of 20 heads of leading US venture funds will visit Moscow. The arrival of venture capitalists is scheduled for May 25-27 this year. The main purpose of the trip is to assess the innovative potential of the country and the possibilities of venture investment in Russian high–tech business. The trip includes meetings with government officials, representatives of large businesses, Russian investors and entrepreneurs.
The visit of the delegation of venture funds was organized by the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation (RUSNANO) and the American Business Association of Russian-speaking Professionals (AmBAR).
AmBAR is an American business association of Russian-speaking professionals, the largest non-profit association of entrepreneurs, venture investors, engineers, lawyers and other business professionals from the countries of the former USSR. AmBAR has more than 2500 members, the headquarters of the association is located in Palo Alto, California (USA). Additional information about the AmBAR Association can be found on the website www.ambarclub.orgThe delegation includes the heads of such well-known funds as Accel Partners, Alloy Ventures, Almaz Capital Partners, Asset Management Company, Atlas Venture, August Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Domain Associates, Draper, Fisher & Jurvetson, EDventure, Emergence Capital, Index Ventures, JK&B Capital, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Siguler Guff & Company, Sofinnova Ventures, Wellington Partners, as well as the well-known law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
The total amount of funds managed by these funds is more than $ 60 billion. Their combined portfolio includes more than six thousand invested companies, including such well-known names as Amgen, Apple, Applied Biosystems, Baidu, Biogen, Cisco, Dell, Ebay, Facebook, Gartner Group, Google, Hotmail, Idec, Intuit, Juniper, Microsoft, Oracle, Redhat, Salesforce, Skype, Symantec, Teva, Verisign, Veritas, etc.
Despite the fact that multinational corporations such as Alcatel, Boeing, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Oracle, Samsung, Sun Microsystems have long opened their development centers in Russia, venture capitalists from other countries are just beginning to look closely at the country and visit it for the first time with such a representative composition. After the success in India, China and Israel, today more and more funds are trying to assess Russia's potential for technological investments, taking into account the course taken to modernize the economy.
"The main value for RUSNANO in joint projects with foreign investors is not money, but the experience of developing high–tech companies. We also expect a stream of deals from them on projects focused on placement in Russia," emphasizes Anatoly Chubais, CEO of RUSNANO.
"The technical knowledge and dedication of the Russian entrepreneurs working with us made a very big impression on us. This trip provides us with a unique opportunity to get better acquainted with Russian startups and their investment potential," says Vivek Mehra, General Partner of August Capital Fund ($2 billion under management).
"I think that the rich history of Russian technological innovations and a lively entrepreneurial spirit can influence the development of technologies not only in Russia, but also on a global scale," adds Jim Smith, partner of the Mohr Davidow Ventures fund ($2 billion under management).
"Venture entrepreneurship is a business based on trust. Meetings with Russian entrepreneurs, technology business leaders and potential co-investors will begin to create a comfortable atmosphere conducive to investment in Russian startups. State borders are not a barrier to innovation. They should not be an obstacle for venture entrepreneurs either," emphasizes Don Wood, managing director of the Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund ($5.5 billion under management).
"This is the first trip to Russia by a group of venture capitalists of this level, and future joint investment projects and technological cooperation between our countries as a whole depend to a large extent on its success,– says Anna Dvornikova, president of the AmBAR Association. – Similar trips to India and China have served as a serious impetus for the development of the venture capital industry in these countries. AmBAR, the core of which has been made up of Russian-speaking technology and innovation professionals living in America for many years, at one time contributed to the emergence of the venture capital industry in Russia. Therefore, now it is especially important for us to support its development and establishment on the world market."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the RUSNANO press center
12.04.2010