Skolkovo is a startup accelerator company that is backed by the Russian government. According to TechCrunch, Skolkovo has raised 135.6 billion ruble ($4 billion) as part of a commitment from the government over the next 7 years.
Skolkovo is expected to receive total funding of about $15 billion through 2020, according to The Moscow Times. Skolkovo is part of a government-led effort to diversify Russia’s economy and depend less on their natural resource exports.
The Skolkovo building is 1,000 acres and is about an hour from central Moscow. Skolkovo will house startups that are heavily focused on technical research and education.
Unfortunately, Skolkovo became controversial due to a corruption scandal, which led to the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov.
Nokia Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, and Cisco Systems has pledged to offer resources to Skolkovo. Skolkovo is tied to about 1,000 startups and supports around 13,000 jobs.
Skolkovo has a special version of the “Startup Visa,” which lets foreign-born entrepreneurs work there from other countries.
[Image Credit: TechCrunch]
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