More than two thousand technology companies will take part in GenerationS business acceleration program
GenerationS 2015, a federal sturtup accelerator organised by RVC, has received 2,566 applications from young technology companies from 139 cities of 13 countries. Following a preliminary examination, more than two thousands of them have been selected for participation in a free intensive business development program that gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to obtain the skills of doing a technology business, develop relationships with corporations, investors, and experts, and increase business potential and investment attractiveness of their projects.
In 2015 GenerationS is implemented in close cooperation with corporations, working as a platform for building corporate accelerators. In late August, about 100 startups will be selected by Russian corporations for individual development of opportunities of cooperation with large domestic businesses in the seven industry areas, applications for which have been distributed as follows:
- 457 applications — SmartCity, urban development technologies. Corporate partners: MORTON GC, Russian Technical Society RPO The track operator is LOGA Group, Moscow;
- 380 applications — BiotechMed, medicine and biotechnology. Corporate partners of the track: Pharmcontract GC, Sibbiopharm PA, and Johnson&Johnson. The track operator is Tomsk State University, Tomsk
- 330 applications — Aerospace, technology for the aerospace industry. Corporate partners: Saturn RPE, Salyut OJSC, S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation "Energia" The track operator is the Regional Innovation Center, Samara;
- 320 applications — Telecom Idea, technology in telecommunications. The corporate partner is Mobile TeleSystems (MTS). The track operator is the Higher School of Marketing and Business Development NRU "Higher School of Economics," Moscow;
- 251 applications — Oil&Gas, new technologies for the oil and gas industry. The corporate partner is Tatneftekhiminvest Holding OJSC. The track operator is Pulsar Venture Capital, Kazan;
- 232 applications — Robotics, production automation and robotics. Corporate partners: Sberbank Technology CJSC, Android Technics RPE The track operator is Moscow Technological Institute, Moscow;
- 228 applications — Power&Energy, modern power generation technologies. Corporate partners: RusHydro Group, KES Holding, Moscow United Electric Grid OJSC, and Energy without Borders Fund The track operators are Next Capital and iR&Dclub, Moscow;
- 368 did not select a track. Their industry identity will be determined in the end of the Pre-Accelerator stage - the first stage of study under GnereationS.
The total number of applications for GenerationS 2015 has increased by 38 percent compared to last year. At the same time, the number of projects from regions has increased as well. This year only 16 percent of applications were lodged by startups from Moscow, while the last year's figure was one third of the total number of applications. Leaders in the number of applications were: Moscow(408), Samara (213),St. Petersburg (126), Kazan (111), Tomsk (94), Ufa (73), Irkutsk (59), Yekaterinburg(56), Almetyevsk (42), and Novosibirsk (41).
Gulnara Bikkulova, Member of the Management Board, RVC, said, "The model of corporate accelerators launched this year under the brand of GenerationS arose great interest on the part of young technology companies. For most of them it is a real opportunity to establish cooperation with Russian corporations. Despite high requirements for technological solutions from big businesses, more than 2,500 startups are ready to finalize their projects in cooperation with Russian companies. The share of applications received this year is 70 percent of the total number of applications for the previous two years of GenerationS. The geography of projects has changed significantly. We have new regional leaders. If more than half of applications in 2013 and 2014 were lodged from Moscow Region, now Moscow is represented by only 16 percent of the total number of applications. By the way, the winners of GenerationS last year were from Kemerovo, Perm, Krasnodar, and St. Petersburg. Industry statistics for applications this year is also revealing in terms of identifying regional leaders - more than 100 projects in the aerospace industry came from Samara, and more than 70 oil&gas applications were lodged by Almetyevsk and Kazan."
There was registered a record increase in the number of participants in GenerationS 2015, despite the high requirements for projects from corporate partners and the absence of a separate IT track traditionally popular among young entrepreneurs. The analysis of applications for GenerationS 2015 shows growth in the number of high-tech projects - 73 percent of projects in 2015 versus 60 percent in 2014 and 41 percent in 2013 respectively.
As part of GenerationS, there was created the largest federal network of educational partners consisting of more than 30 start-up schools, business incubators, technology parks, universities, technology platforms, and other members of the ecosystem working directly with startups. The regional network has covered 31 Russian cities, 8 countries, and 83 educational events.
About GenerationS
GenerationS is a federal accelerator for technology start-ups, in which the best projects are selected by the results of a multi-stage examination to receive intensive development and opportunities for investment. GenerationS has been held by RVC since 2013 with the support of Russian corporations, development institutions, and representatives of venture infrastructure. Since 2015, GenerationS resources have been utilised for creation of corporate and industry accelerators in close cooperation with large Russian corporations. The corporations are directly involved in project selection and assessment, as well as in acceleration of startups participating in GenerationS, based on their needs in innovation. GenerationS-2015 is held in seven branch lines (tracks): Power&Energy, Telecom Idea, Robotics, Aerospace, SmartCity, Oil&Gas, and BiotechMed. All the participants of corporate accelerators will be given the opportunity to receive a grant of RUB 1 mn from the Foundation for Assistance to Development of Small Research and Technology Enterprises. Three winners of GenerationS will share the prize fund of RVC and partners. The minimum size of the prize fund is RUB 5 mn.
About RVC
RVC OJSC is a state fund of funds, development institution of the Russian Federation, and one of the key tools of the state in creating national innovation system. The authorized capital of RVC OJSC is more than RUB 30 bn. 100% of the RVC's capital belongs to the Russian Federation represented by the Federal Agency for State Property Management of the Russian Federation (Rosimushestvo). The total number of funds formed by RVC has reached 21, their aggregate size is RUB 32.2 bn. The share of RVC OJSC is RUB 19.55 bn. RVC funds have invested into 175 innovative companies. The total amount of assets invested has reached RUB 16.2 bn.
