Illustrating the appeal of e-learning projects in the eyes of Russian investors, online micro-course platform Coursmos has received $600,000 in seed investment in a deal led by Altera Capital Group with participation from Imperious Group. Coursmos has now raised a total of $1.2 million in investment since it was launched in March 2014. Coursmos offers 11,000 micro-courses across 20 areas, …
Preply, a platform to find foreign language tutors for home or Skype lessons, has just entered the Polish market with a localized version of its website. Launched in 2012 by Kirill Bigai, Serge Lukianov and Dmytro Voloshyn, the startup initially developed across the Ukrainian, Russian, Belarussian and Kazakhstani markets.
Startups dealing with computer graphics and so-called gamification will now be able to apply for Skolkovo grants and residency under new plans for 2015 published by the IT cluster. Graphics and gamification form one of three new technology foresights added to the cluster’s strategic development vision this year. The other two, robotics and mobile technology, …
Graphics and gamification enter Skolkovo IT cluster crosshairs for 2015 Read More »
A Russian web site that served as a support group for LGBT teenagers has been blacklisted by the authorities and will likely be blocked within the country, news reports said Monday. The site’s name Deti-404 (Children-404), after the online HTTP error message for “page not found,” may prove portentous if Russia’s Internet watchdog Roskomnadzor considers the site to be in violation of a federal law that regulates online …
Russia blacklists LGBT teen online support group Read More »
Groupon, which began operating in Russia in 2010, has asserted itself since then as a leader in the Russian coupon sales market. The site has also developed a cross-border business, selling virtually anything from smartphones to tableware and cappuccinators to Russian consumers. Erik Bosgoed, head of logistics at Groupon International GMBH Switserland, explained to East-West …
Illustrating the relative resilience of the Russian e-commerce market amid the current economic turmoil, leading flash sales platform KupiVIP.ru reported a 44% revenue increase year-on-year in Q4 2014. The company attributes this growth to consumers switching from traditional and online retail to discount-based sites. Sales also grew due to the development of the site’s cross-border …
KupiVIP.ru close to break-even, reports 44% year-on-year sales growth in Q4 2014 Read More »
The average American knows about Buzzfeed, Home Depot, and Vimeo; their sites are gaining about as much traffic in the US as Yandex.ru, which most Americans wouldn’t recognize. According to the most recent results from SimilarWeb, two major Russian websites Yandex and Vkontakte ranked in the top 100 US websites for 2014. Vkontakte, Russia’s leading social …
Anews, an international global news-reading service with a built-in behavioral advertising network, has received $2.7 million from TMT Investments, Run Capital, 101 Startup and several individual investors. As reported by Rusbase, TMT Investments and Run Capital each invested $1 million, in exchange for minority stakes in the company. “With its strong team, with a wealth …
News aggregator Anews raises $2.7 million for further international expansion Read More »
Moscow – Russian music service Zvooq, part of the holding Dream Industries, changes the game for music streaming by introducing a new model of music listening, becoming Russia’s only fully free legal music service. From January 20 Zvooq allows all listeners to select any song, album or compilation, and then listen free of charge without time …
Zvooq launches full function free mobile music streaming Read More »
The average person aims to stay up to speed with the most recent clothing styles and haircuts. From country to country, styles vary and the ideal image is often rooted in cultural influence. Still, a popular movie or a celebrity influences worldwide trends uniting people across the globe to wear a particular pair of sunglasses …
What do Yandex users want to look like? Russians’ image search queries Read More »