Russian startups looking for a boost from Asian investors

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Russia's most promising technology firms have gathered in Moscow for the country's largest innovation event.

Startups from across Russia and experts and investors from around the world have been taking part in the Open Innovation Forum at the Skolkovo Innovation Center.

Skolkovo was set up in 2010 to encourage innovation in the technology industry. It now houses some of the country's most ambitious firms in the spheres of IT, energy, nuclear, biomedical and space technology.

Innovators and investors from around the world visit the Open Innovations Forum. /CGTN Photo

Arkady Dvorkovich knows how crucial strategy is for these small businesses.

He's just been elected as the head of the World Chess Foundation and also co-chairs the Skolkovo Foundation.

He said, "I think we have real drive. We have hundreds of startups working under the umbrella of Skolkovo, also all across Russia at different universities. Russian people given education levels, especially in math and sciences in general, plus the improved culture for risk-taking can do things sometimes better than others, and cheaper, which is important to the market."

Some of the investment opportunities for Russian tech businesses are coming from Asia.

Representatives of Huawei and the Moscow School of Management shake on an agreement. /CGTN Photo

At the event, Huawei signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Moscow School of Management at Skolkovo.

The agreement will lead to collaboration with some of Russia's brightest young tech minds, sending them to China to see how the sector is developing there.

The Open Innovations Forum also provided a platform for Russian startups to pitch their companies to Chinese investors.

Some startup founders, however, are hoping for more domestic support for the technology industry.

A visitor films a talking robot. /CGTN Photo

One such company is the Virtual Reality Laboratory, based in the city of Vladivostok, near the border with China. The firm pairs virtual reality technology with robots, aiming to send them to places humans can't go.

Its co-founder, Taras Gurko, said, "We would like to see of course more support, as usual, more financial support, not maybe tied to finished products but actually products which need to be developed."

Although Skolkovo-based companies are given tax breaks, Gurko says they focus more on sales than research and development. He believes that the emphasis needs to be placed on R&D in order for the Russian tech sector to truly flourish.

(Top image: VR technology is used to control a robot. /CGTN Photo)