Sberbank announced on Friday it has formed a partnership with international accelerator 500 Startups to launch a new program specifically for Russian IT startups. According to Sberbank, the accelerator program is designed for the following areas:
- E-commerce
- Digital medicine
- Lifestyle services
- Cloud B2B services
- Advertising technology
- Other technology: EduTech, Auto, internet of things, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, VR/AR, robotics, cybersecurity, financial technology, and blockchain
Sberbank reported that 25 startups will be selected for the accelerator and each will receive a seed investment of up to RUB 10 million and the possibility to promote their product in ecosystems of Sberbank and corporations that are partners of the accelerator.
The bank also revealed that at the first stage, the teams will work on start-ups in Moscow for nine weeks and their mentors will be specialists from The final stage will be a demo day where top managers from Sberbank, private venture investors and representatives of funds will choose the seven best start-ups. The winners of the Moscow stage will be sent to Silicon Valley, where the startups will learn about business practices and develop products. They will then present their projects on a demo day in San Francisco to Russian and foreign investors and large companies.
Speaking about the program, First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, Lev Khasis, stated:
“We are glad to cooperate with 500 Startups, which entrepreneurs all over the world dream about being invited to. It is important that our joint project is focused on selecting Russian start-ups and allows American companies to take part in the selection.”
Khasis added:
“There has been nothing similar to this in Russia before. In addition, during the acceleration, large Russian companies and Sberbank will become customers of the start-ups. Thus, participation in our programme will let them test their products in real conditions and find future clients.”