Events

Synopsis

• Russia is transforming from a resource-intensive economy to an innovation-based one. Skolkovo Foundation was established 3.5 years ago to help accelerate the transformation of Russia. Vasily Belov, Senior Vice-President of Innovations Department, stated that European countries like Norway set good examples for such kind of transformation.
• According to the statistics in 2013, 857 startups have become participants of the project, with ICT companies topping the list. There are also numerous energy and biomedical technology companies.  
• Igor Bogachev, Executive Director of the IT Cluster, expressed that Russian programmers do have advantages in terms of the techniques. The largest companies in the world look for business partners at Skolkovo: IBM, Cisco Systems and Siemens et al. Skolkovo provides support for strategic partnership formation and talent recruitment.
• Skolkovo brought 8 startups to participate in the ICT expo in Hong Kong recently, and expressed a strong desire to promote cooperation with Hong Kong companies. The delegation would like to ride on the opportunity to share their insights on such potential collaboration and the stories of the startups. Bogachev explained that Skolkovo offers tax benefits, as well as law consultancy services to the project participants.
• Belov added that one of Skolkovo roles is assisting the startups to go global. By bringing the startups to the ICT Expo, Skolkovo hopes to act as a bridging party that connects the startups with the innovation industry worldwide. During the Expo, some of the overseas buyers expressed interest in the startups’ products, and some startups established partnerships with mainland production companies. He added that Skolkovo has brought the startups to the U.S.A. and Europe before for promotion and knowledge exchange. The purpose of the trips varied: it was fundraising in the U.S.A., and looking for business opportunities at CeBIT in German.
• Belov stated that many of the startups’ innovations have successfully applied for patent. Kirill Kaem, Executive Director of the biomedical technologies cluster, expressed that the startups are not competing with the traditional factories for the existing market; they are looking for new opportunities instead. He stated that Chinese companies have robust infrastructure, while Russian companies are strong in software development.  
• JSC Intersoft Eurasia manufactured DO-RA, a mobile radiometer developed for mobile devices. By connecting DO-RA to an iPhone or iPad, the specially designed software can monitor the radiation level of background, food, or water. Vladimir Elin, project manager of JSC Intersoft Eurasia, stated that the device was inspired by the Fukushima nuclear disaster; he started the project after the disaster, hoping to contribute to the community.  The product will be priced between USD40 – USD100.
• Alexander Pimenov from Computer Vision System (CVS) introduced that their product is mainly used on outdoor signage. In the product demonstration, CVS’s software operated on “Linux” OS. The software can be operated on “Windows” or “Mac OS” too.  Though there are similar products in the market, Pimenov explained that CVS’s product is easier to use, and it works well in outdoor areas, without being interfered by sunlight. The product is already in the market, with over 10 customers using it, e.g. a retail shop in the Netherlands. The company would like to look for strategic partners, and establish their footprints in the industry worldwide.
• Maxim Kostin, Technical Director of FLAK Research, stated that their product is a fully featured security USB for individual use on laptops or tablet PCs. Users can easily access the data stored in clouds by connecting the USB to a device. It is not anti-virus software; it is a security solution running on VPN to protect digital data. The solution was developed in Russia using 5 years’ time, and now the USB hardware is under production in China. It is ready to launch in the Hong Kong market and other markets in the world.
• AlgoMost is an international data mining platform. Michael Leviev, CEO of AlgoMost, said that the company provides a unique service with its global network and innovative algorithms to help clients solve their problems.