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Tag: venture capital

From street vendors to global tech: the rise of Chilecon Valley

May 20, 2013 5:25pm by Peter Vanham
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It’s one of the anomalies in global statistics: South America is home to the world’s highest proportion of entrepreneurs, yet their presence doesn’t often translate into global innovation or broad-based wealth creation.

Chile has been eager to change that reality. And, it seems, its efforts are starting to bear fruit. Several Chilean-bred tech companies have recently been acquired by venture capital funds, and three Chilean-focused VCs vowed to invest some $67m in Chilean companies this year. Is Chile really becoming “Chilecon Valley”? Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Chile, LatAm |

Futurelytics Seedcamp prize shows CEE tech potential

Nov 9, 2012 2:44pm by Kester Eddy
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Surrounded by pit heads, slag heaps, industrial piping and hissing chemical plant, the city of Ostrava is more redolent of the Ruhr Valley of the 1960s than the Silicon Valley of today.

But the Czech Republic’s second largest metropolitan area (pop: 1.2m) has also sprouted a thriving IT culture, based on the Technical University of Ostrava. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Czech Republic, Europe |

Wanted: more tech investors in Turkey

Sep 26, 2012 6:30pm by Daniel Dombey
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Turkey is far from terra incognita for technology companies but it is seen by some of them as a brave new world. The country – or at least its big cities – often seems crazy for technology, whether because of the sheer number of iPhones on display, fast broadband speeds or the sheer popularity of social media sites. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe, Turkey |

Venture capital spurs Russian drug development – in California

Jul 25, 2012 3:05pm by Isabel Gorst
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When the Kremlin invited a group of US venture capitalists to Russia during the financial crisis, some of the visitors saw as much an opportunity to scout for fresh sources of capital as they did a new place to invest in.

Domain Associates, a California-based life sciences venture fund, has found a way of combining both goals in a partnership with Rusnano, Russia’s state nanotechnology company. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Europe, Russia |

Russia’s RVC: maritime navigation and other high-tech investments

May 11, 2012 4:56pm by beyondbrics
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By Ben Aris of business new europe

Five years ago, then-president Vladimir Putin floated the idea of a state-backed venture capital company to “leverage Russia’s intellectual capital.” No one disputes the Russians are clever or have good scientists – Russia was first to put a man into space, after all. The problem is that businesses see little point in investing into highly risky, long-term technology projects when they can earn guaranteed double-digit returns for doing no more than buying German equipment and putting it into a regional sausage factory. Thus the Russia Venture Company (RVC) was born and five years on its first projects are starting to hit the market. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Europe, Russia |

Russia: VTB joins internet Fast Lane

Apr 24, 2012 5:08pm by Catherine Belton
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One of the biggest developers of Russian internet companies, Fast Lane Ventures, has formed a strategic partnership with VTB, the Russian state-controlled bank, as investor interest rises in Russia’s rapidly-growing internet sector.

Tuesday’s deal in which VTB Capital, VTB’s investment banking arm, becomes the lead investor in an $18m fundraising will give Fast Lane access to VTB Capital’s wide network of corporate clients, and its hefty financial resources. The partnership will also, presumably, help Fast Lane Ventures (FLV) fend off possible aggressive approaches from predatory oligarchs, wanting to snap up the business just as it becomes interesting. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Russia |

Venture capitalists see shift to emerging markets

Jul 14, 2010 8:56pm by Shannon Bond
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You can add venture capital to the growing list of areas where emerging markets are expected to outperform the developed world. That’s according to a new survey released today from Deloitte, the consultancy, and the National Venture Capital Association, an industry group.

Most venture capitalists in China, Brazil and India see the number of firms in their countries growing over the next five years, the study found. In China, 99 per cent of venture capitalists see an expanding industry. That compares with 97 per cent in Brazil and 85 per cent in India. In contrast, 92 per cent of venture capitalists in the US expect their industry to contract over that same period. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Global |

Russia’s Silicon Valley still has a ways to go

May 30, 2010 6:17pm by Isabel Gorst
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A group of US venture capitalists left Moscow this weekend intrigued, but not convinced by Russia’s plan to spur economic modernisation by building a Silicon Valley.

Dmitry Medvedev has championed the project to build the high-tech hub at Skolkovo, a village in Moscow’s woody suburbs. Dubbed “Inograd” by officials, it is the linchpin of the Russian president’s grand scheme to modernise the economy and wean it off oil and gas. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Russia |

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