Previously defined by the way it cloned western companies, Russia is gradually becoming a place where its undoubtedly strong education and engineering standards are blending with original entrepreneurship.
The Russian startup scene is buoyed by the impressive Skolkovo project, which already incubates more than 1,000 domestic and foreign startups from its campus in Moscow.
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But, in a country of around 144 million, it’s not just about Moscow. In St. Petersburg and the lesser-known cities of Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Chelyabinsk, companies are emerging that will define the future state of Russia’s economy.
Not strictly a startup because it was founded in 2006, VK.com — formerly known as Vkontakte.ru — is the company that all Russian startups aspire to be.
Known as the Russian Facebook, this social network has more than 80 million registered users and focuses heavily on mobile. Mark Zuckerberg has described the VK.com team as "the international Olympiad computing champions...[who] did an awesome job of cloning Facebook."
Vizerra is a 3D visualization company that enables architects, engineers and designers to turn their CAD models into immersive 3D worlds.
It uses gaming and social technology to create interactive 3D experiences of real-world buildings and environments. Clients include Russian gas giant Gazprom and National Geographic.
JSC Mostkom develops and supplies equipment for wireless optical communications based on Free Space Optics (FSO) technology.
It does so by providing wireless transmission of digital signals through the atmosphere in the unlicensed infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Penxy allows users to stream and record presentations using an iPhone or iPad app, and broadcasts them synced with voice, recorded and shared decks.
This means users have a full-size presenter view in their hands, which they can move around the room and switch slides with a single swipe wirelessly on a projector.
Choister is a service that helps search, analyze and compare all available "smart" educational programs.
The company finds the programs, structures the data, helps to make smart choices, and then sends the motivated students to the schools’ websites.
Ometria is an Anglo-Russian startup that uses targeted online retail data to attract customers by putting all of the data in one place.
Its data scientists have created a set of algorithms to spot weaknesses and underperformance, and its unique core-tracking technology allows the company to provide real-time data on both shopping habits and product sales.
Taking less than five minutes to set up, Ecwid is a shopping cart widget that can be integrated into any online website, mobile site or social network.
It has more than 350,000 registered users and clients have included top-end brands such as PayPal, Facebook, FedEx and UPS.
Kuznech allows consumers to discover products through online images and to search for similar images for social and shopping apps.
Using images to tell a story, the company raised nearly $700,000 in 2012 and has a U.S. office in California.
Gitoon is a user-generated publishing platform with quality controls that obviate the need to spend time searching, browsing or digging around.
It honors artists' works and users’ time by only publishing high-quality submissions as defined by its proprietary algorithm and provides reviews of all submitted content.
VisibleNation is an Anglo-Russian startup that offers a social data comparison service, so users can share accurate information and big data.
Its free service allows people to access categories such as travel, career, education, finance, health and family to make lifestyle decisions.
Oktogo (pronounced "OK to go") is an online hotel reservations agency designed specifically for Russian travelers. It works with more than 5,000 Russian hotels and 350,000 hotels worldwide.
Founded in 2010, the company has raised more than $26 million in funding, and its website attracts more than 1 million unique visitors per month.
Zingaya is a U.S.-Russian company that enables voice calls through any computer without the need for a download or a phone.
A customer installs a "call button" on his or her website and visitors to the site simply click on the button to connect to a mobile phone or landline.
Gruzobzor is a way for carriers, brokers and others to find loads and trucks for transportation. It's an attempt to solve the problem of information exchange in b2b logistics.
According to the company, it’s so simple that "even your grandma could post and find a truck or load."
With more than 22 million registered users, 2GIS is a developer of electronic directory guides in more than 200 cities in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Italy, Cyprus and the Czech Republic.
The company provides 3D maps and is a complete, verified and constantly updated directory of organizations with detailed city maps.
Wheely is a minicab company that allows customers to order a high-end taxi, such as a Mercedes, to pick them up. Customers can pay by cash when the car arrives or by credit card.
Disclaimer: This is a service that I used when on the outskirts of Moscow to get into the city centre. The service was fast and exceptional, and the car was cool.
Launched in 2010, Ostrovok is a hotel booking service that has raised more than $13.5 million. It's a leader in Russia’s rapidly growing travel market.
The company’s founders, Serge Faguet and Kirill Makharinsky, are Russian entrepreneurs who studied at Stanford and Oxford Universities, and worked at Google and Slide respectively.
Headed by the charismatic Oleg Fomenko, Bloom.fm is a music-streaming service that the company says is "the highest-rated streaming app" on Google Play.
With more than 500,000 registered users, Bloom.fm released its Android app in September 2013, after the earlier iOS launch in January 2013. The company offers a $1.60 per month music subscription service, which allows users to download and borrow 20 tracks at a time.
Recently the recipient of fragments from this year’s meteor shower, Chelyabinsk also houses Avimoto, where users can upload photos and videos, choose a style, and add text and music.
The company automatically analyzes and cleans up video and adds sound effects and special effects, so the user is presented with a quality video product.
Doroga.TV is a vehicle-tracking GPS service that provides public transport and traffic-tracking software to the U.S. cities of New York and New Jersey.
Launched in 2007, the company operates in seven Russian cities outside Moscow and St. Petersburg, as it rolls out its product around the country.
Langprism is a global project for the translation of the web, and describes itself as Russia’s answer to Google Translate.
The company lets users translate any web page to another language, and that translation automatically becomes available and shareable to all users of the Internet.
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