The GenerationS-2016 is launched

During the three years of its existence, GenerationS turned from the usual format of a start-up accelerator into the all-Russian platform for the development of tools for the interaction of corporations and startups. The project has formed its own ecosystem of corporations, technology entrepreneurs, innovative development institutions, venture funds, business angels, regional programs of acceleration, business incubators, universities, research institutions and other market participants.

The GenerationS-2016 accelerators will be organized in eight branch lines (tracks) with the participation of the following partners:

• Mining & Metals (new technologies in the field of processing of precious metals and mining), the industrial partner – Krastsvetmet, JSC, the track partner - ALROSA, the track operator - Innovation infrastructure of the Ural Federal University. The media partners – Expert-Ural Magazine, Interfax-Ural news agency.


• AgroBioTech&Food (biotechnology to improve the efficiency of agriculture and the food industry), industrial partner – the EFCO Group of Companies, the operator - the Kuban State University of Technology (KubGTU). The partner of the youth program of the track – Open University Skolkovo (OtUs).


• SmartCity (a "smart" city and urban planning techniques), industrial partners – the Morton Group of Companies and Russian Technical Company, the track operator – Rusbase.


• Сreative Industries (new media, entertainment, fashion, design, and social entrepreneurship), the industrial partner – Company Sher Oston, the track partner - Flacon Design Factory, the track operator – MT by Maria Tikhonova. Information Partners – GC AMEDIA, Iskatel (Finder) Radio station.


• Finance&Banking Technologies (Electronic interaction in the financial market, financial solutions for business, retail and institutional investors, insurance companies and banks), industrial partners – Moscow Exchange Group, QIWI, the track operator – RIS Ventures. General information partner – information agency Bankir.Ru.


• LifeScience (projects in the field of biomedicine), the industrial partner – Northern Biopharmaceutical Cluster, the operator – KSI Ventures, LLC.


• TechNet (advanced production technologies), the industrial partner – R&D Saturn, JSC, the partner – Rostelecom, PJSC, the operator – StartupSamara Regional Institute of Innovation.


• Power&Energy (in the field of energy solutions and the development of personal sources and energy storage devices), the industrial partner – Irkutsk Electric Grid Company, JSC, the operator – Lermontov-innovations, LLC.

For each RVC track, the industrial partner and the operator have developed a specialized program taking into account the industry-orientation of projects and business objectives of a partner corporation.

The global partner of the GenerationS-2016 is Vilnius Tech Park (Lithuania), which will provide its support to the accelerator participants as to the introduction of projects to the international markets. Development Partner – the Fund to promote innovation – allocates grants to the best projects of GenerationS under the EGGHEAD and START programs.

Search for projects for participation in the accelerator through a regional partnership network of GenerationS that includes more than 250 government organizations and commercial companies. The corporate staff will be directly involved in the selection, examination and acceleration of startups participating in GenerationS.

In 2016, GenerationS will be held in the form of two parallel streams: for mature projects and projects of early stages (pre-seed and seed stages). The projects at later stages will be able to apply for participation in one of the areas of corporate GenerationS acceleration; meanwhile, for projects of early stages, Preaccelerator will be held – a federal training program for participation in the GenerationS corporate tracks. This is a set of online and offline activities aimed at improving the quality of early-stage projects and bringing them to the next stage of development.

Main stages of the GenerationS-2016:

From June 7 to October 15, technology related projects will be accepted for participation in GenerationS at www.generation-startup.ru, having previously selected the stage of development of the project and one of the industry's directions. From November 2016 to July 2017, for early stage projects, Preaccelerator will be held, which will include two stages: online and offline. As part of the online program, participants will watch a series of training video lectures on the formation of business models of their projects and will modify them in accordance with the acquired knowledge. The full-time program for the top 100 projects will make it possible to undergo an intensive course of a series of workshops, consultations, and meetings with successful entrepreneurs. Also, this program will help to find mentors in cooperation with whom the participants will carry out the detailed study of the business part of their projects, and to develop prototypes of products on technologically advanced infrastructure platforms such as FabLabs, Center for Youth Innovation Creativity (CYIC) and others.

From November 2016 to February 2017, for projects of later stages the GenerationS corporate acceleration programs will take place, containing: a series of workshops and master classes carried out by industry experts, visits to the production facilities of the partner corporations, meetings with successful industry entrepreneurs and investors, work with mentors, individual consultations and practical exercises. The purpose of this step is to help the teams to modify their product in constant interaction with a potential customer and to test the business model and prepare the project for its successful entering the market. At the end of each accelerator, a Demo Day will be held, on which the projects will be presented to the investment committee and the scientific and technical council of the partner corporations, where a decision on further work with each particular project-graduate of the accelerator.

In March 2017, the Super final of GenerationS will be held, in which the Members of the Board of Trustees will select the winners. They will share the prize fund of 15,000,000 rubles, and will also receive prizes from the accelerator partners and the opportunity to continue working with corporate partners on the implementation of their developments in their manufacturing processes, or investment in the development and refinement of the product.

As noted by Deputy General Director of Russian Venture Company Gulnara Bikkulova, "Over the last three years, GenerationS remains one of the drivers in the development of Russian high-tech entrepreneurial culture, creating a unique ecosystem of startups, corporations, venture capital funds and other market participants. Among the key tasks of GenerationS in 2016 is to create an efficient platform for the development of Russian corporate acceleration institutions. In doing so, we are helped by our industrial partners – Russian corporations that throughout the project will act as mentors and experts of the project, helping young entrepreneurs in preparation for a successful entering the market with their products."

"Fund IMI.VC and Vilnius Tech Park joined GenerationS in 2016 as Global Partner. We will be happy to share our experience with young entrepreneurs and support talented teams on the way to a successful launch and scaling their businesses around the world" – said Igor Matzanyuk, the founder of the IMI.VC. venture fund.

Director General of the Foundation to promote innovation Sergey Polyakov outlined the main results of previous accelerators and shared his plans for further cooperation: "Since 2014, the Foundation provides grants to the best GenerationS projects. From the very beginning of the joint work, the amount of projects granted financial support of the Fund has increased by more than 4.5 times. As a partner in the development, the Foundation to promote innovation is particularly pleased to see the evolution of the unique GenerationS accelerator".

GenerationS is the largest accelerator of technology projects in Russia and Eastern Europe and the first federal platform for the creation and development of corporate acceleration tools. It has been held by RVC since 2013.

In 2013, RVC launched the first accelerator of federal level; the Teams of startups from the Russian regions and the CIS countries took an online course on the basics of technological entrepreneurship and the full-time acceleration program, having acquired practical skills of how to create and sell your own project.

In 2014, the first sectoral accelerators were launched in the following areas: Industrial (industrial solutions), IT (information technology), BioTechMed (biotechnology and medicine), CleanTech (energy efficiency and resource conservation).

The GenerationS-2015 has received a record number of applications: 2,566 projects from 14 countries. 141 projects were selected to participate in the corporate accelerators in 7 directions. More than 20 Russian companies, in whose interests the selection and acceleration of projects were carried out, became the customers and industrial partners of GenerationS.

GenerationS Press Service:
Phone: +7 (495) 510 2200
E-mail: press@generation-startup.ru