Rovial

2022: Ex-CIO Sberbank David Rafalovsky will build space bases with businessman Mikhail Kokorich

As TAdviser, the former executive vice president, chief technology officer, head of the technology block in the summer of Sberbank David Rafalovsky 2022, was appointed president of Rovial, a space startup based in. Paris France Rafalovsky is also on Rovial's list of beneficiaries, according to open data from the National Register of Trading Companies and Joint Stock Companies (Registry National du Commerce et des Sociétés).

One of the co-founders of the startup is the famous Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich. Another beneficial owner of Rovial in the register as of the beginning of September 2022 is Louis Jimenez-Tunon. He is the founder and CEO of the investment company Red Queen Ventures. And in 2011-2017 Louis Jimenez Tounion was the general director of the mobile operator Vodafone.

Rovial was formed in 2021. It follows from the above register that among the activities of the company - the development and operation of high-speed communication satellites and satellite networks, the development and provision of communication services.

The main page of the Rovial website claims high-power satellite platforms using robotics with artificial intelligence. There, on the site, the concept of a new space economy is presented, where permanent settlements on and around the moon, new businesses are supposed - for example, data processing right in space, resource extraction on the moon and other planets. The Rovial solutions section provides technologies under its brand that could contribute to the development of such an economy.

Screenshot from Rovial

The company relies on the creation of ultra-powerful highly orbital platforms with electric generation constantly present in space. This energy could be used by satellites for broadband broadcasting, as well as for processing data in space. In the future, the company also plans to implement other functions, such as, for example, the production of hydrogen and oxygen from water for refueling and production in space^[1]. This is stated in the description of one of her vacancies. And autonomous robots with artificial intelligence could carry out repairs and assembly right in space.

According to the French trade register (Registry du commerce et des sociétés), before Rafalovsky, Kokorich held the post of president in Rovial. With the appointment of Rafalovsky, he moved to the post of general director of Rovial. There is no page on the Rovial website with a description of the team, but in the Google search results of top managers linked to the site of this company, Mikhail Kokorich is also indicated as the technical director (CTO) of Rovial.

From the entry in the French trade register about the personnel reshuffle in the top management of Rovial, it follows that David Rafalovsky is based in the United States and has Israeli and American citizenship, Mikhail Kokorich - in Switzerland and has Russian citizenship. And Louis Jimenez Tounion is a Spanish citizen, a resident of Andorra.

According to the open data portal Open Corporations, Mikhail Kokorich has a Rovial legal entity in the United States. This name, after renaming, was received by Datum Planes, originally founded in 2020, about which Open^[2].

In the profiles of Mikhail Kokorich and Louis Jimenez Tunion on the LinkedIn social network as of early September, Roval is listed in the list of places of work, while David Rafalovsky does not. After Sberbank, his next place of work in the LinkedIn profile is Kizen, the developer of a CRM solution, where Rafalovsky holds the position of strategy director and is a member of the board of directors.

During his career, Mikhail Kokorich founded more than 20 companies, including the Uzuerra retail chain. He also headed the Technosila company. And he has experience in the space industry. So, earlier he created the company "Dauria," which was engaged in the development and launch of space satellites in 2012. In the same year, Kokorich moved to the United States.

Dauria collaborated with Roscosmos, but two years later the cooperation ceased. In 2015, Kokorich sold his stake in the company. According to him, creating Dauria in Russia was his biggest mistake in his life^[3] he ^[4]

In 2017, Mikhail Kokorich in the United States founded a new company - Momentum Space, working in the field of space logistics and transportation. Its co-founder was Lev Khasis, at that time a top manager of Sberbank. And Momentum Space's customers include NASA and Lockheed Martin.

At the beginning of 2021, Momentum Space tried to go public, NASDAQ but IPO was postponed due to a dispute with the American authorities. They were worried, among other things, that Kokorich was a Russian^[5]wrote The Verge portal. Amid pressure from the authorities, he also resigned as head of Momentum Space. Former Pentagon deputy head John Rood was appointed to the post of CEO [^[6] In 2021, Mikhail Kokorich and Lev Khasis sold their shares in this company.

Another space startup of Mikhail Kokorich is the Swiss-based company Destiny. In a few years, she plans to introduce a hybrid of an aircraft and a rocket that can deliver cargo and people, flying out of the atmosphere. In February 2022, Destinius raised $29 million from investors^[7].

Lev Khasis, with whom Mikhail Kokorich previously developed the space business, recall that on February 21, 2022 he decided to leave Sberbank ahead of schedule, where at that time he served as the first deputy chairman of the board and was responsible for the construction and development of the ecosystem.

And after the start of well-known events in Ukraine in February, Hasis fell under the sanctions of Britain and Canada. On February 26, it became known about the departure of David Rafalovsky from Sberbank^[8]. He, unlike his former colleague, was not sanctioned.

This is an important point, given that France's Rovial appears to have very ambitious plans in place. In To Europe 2021, shortly after the company's formation, Rovial announced that it wanted to lead a consortium that would include several cutting-edge European companies to implement a satellite network that would create an independent backbone in space and ensure economic growth and security. Europe The first important stage for the consortium was the launch of demonstration satellites in 2022^[9]

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