An online marketplace that allows users to search for, order and track research and development at all stages has been launched by the Skolkovo Technopark.
The Skolkovo Technopark offers a range of services aimed to help innovative tech startups. Photo: Sk.ru.
The platform, rnd.sk.ru, features 55 providers of R&D services who have obtained accreditation by the system and are guaranteed to carry out the work to a high standard and in keeping with the required regulations and timeframes. The services on offer include biobank research, computer engineering, high-precision machine processing, prototype manufacturing, electromagnetic testing and many others. The marketplace is designed to be used both by Skolkovo resident startups and by external companies at any stage of their development.
The new platform means that Russian developers can now gain unprecedented access to more than 1,000 items of expensive, state-of-the-art equipment, including a Titan transmission electron microscope, a Brüel & Kjær vibration testing system, a Pall ForteBio SPR biosensor and a giant Fortus 900MC 3D printer. These are now all available to Russian companies, from small startups consisting of several people to major corporations.
Client companies can also obtain expert support at each stage of the technology readiness level (TRL) measuring process. The platform operated in a test regime for one month, during which time 26 R&D orders were completed.
The marketplace is designed not merely as an information source, but as a commercial product.
“For us it’s really important that the project is self-sufficient,” said Renat Batyrov, director of the Skolkovo Technopark.
“We understand perfectly that the creation of a unified information space for research and development services across Russia will require significant development and serious upscaling. We’re proud that we’ve managed to devise a sustainable model and test it.”
The R&D marketplace is the latest service to be offered by the Skolkovo Technopark to help innovative tech companies develop their products. The giant Technopark is already home to the Sk BioLab, Russia’s first shared lab space for biotech startups, and a commercial research biobank operated by National BioService, a resident company of Skolkovo’s biomed cluster. The Technopark also boasts a fully equipped hackspace where startups can create prototypes.