Skolkovo Foundation

The Skolkovo Foundation (full name - the Development Fund of the Center for the Development and Commercialization of New Technologies) is responsible for the implementation of the project for the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Center.

The Fund has the status of the management company of the Skolkovo Innovation Center in accordance with the order of the President of the Russian Federation of July 2, 2010 No. 446-rp, as well as the decision of the Modernization Commission adopted in November 2010.

The Skolkovo Foundation's mission is to create an ecosystem, create favorable conditions for the innovation process, in which scientists, designers, engineers and businessmen, together with participants in educational projects, will work to create competitive world-class science-intensive developments in five priority areas: energy efficiency and energy saving (EET), nuclear technologies (NAT), space technologies and telecommunications (CTiTK), biomedical technologies (BMT), strategic computer technologies and software (IT).

History

2024

Appointment of Sergei Perov as Chairman of the Board

On April 12, 2024, it was announced the appointment of Sergei Perov as the new chairman of the board of the Skolkovo Foundation. He replaced Igor Drozdov, who has held this position since 2016. Read more here.

Start of selection of pilot projects in the field of AI

Skolkovo on April 4, 2024 announced the selection of pilot projects in the field. In artificial intelligence 2024, promising AI projects will receive support in the amount of 554 million. rubles The program is being implemented within the framework of the federal project "Artificial Intelligence" of the national project "" and Digital economy of Russia is aimed at promoting the pilot implementation of domestic AI solutions in priority ones. industries economies

The amount of grants will be from 20 to 100 million rubles. It is planned to support the projects of Russian companies introducing AI to transform technological or business processes. To receive a grant, projects must be pilot and provide for the use of artificial intelligence technologies in the production, operation or operation of the services provided.

For the state, first of all, it is important that financial support for promising projects becomes more accessible. This makes it possible to ensure the introduction of technologies in a wide range of industries. Artificial intelligence remains one of the most important tools to increase the efficiency of Russian enterprises and the development of sectors of the economy, - said Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the RFMaxime Kolesnikov.

The introduction of artificial intelligence is the most important direction for improving the efficiency of sectors of the economy and achieving technological sovereignty. The ВЭБ.РФ Group, in cooperation with the Government, is constantly improving the support mechanisms for development companies. We hope that in 2024, with the help of such grants, we will support the most competitive and promising solutions, - said ВЭБ.РФ Chairman Igor Shuvalov.

In 2024, the list of documents required to receive financial support will be reduced. The changes will also affect the participation of small technology companies. They will receive additional points when evaluating an application within the framework of competitive selection and will no longer be limited to revenue of 2 billion rubles.

For developers belonging to the number of small technology companies (MTK), advantages will be provided in the assessment. They will receive additional points within the framework of competitive selection and an increased threshold for the permissible amount of revenue, - commented Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Board of the Skolkovo Foundation.

2023

Skolkovo approved financing of AI projects for 1.6 billion rubles over the year

Skolkovo in 2023 approved the financing of AI projects for 1.6 billion rubles, of which over 840 million rubles of extrabudgetary investments, grant support for Skolkovo - more than 820 million rubles. Such data in the fund led January 17, 2024.

Among the recipients of grants - GAUZ "Republican Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Tatarstan." She received 20 million rubles for the development of software with AI algorithms for analyzing video flow in intensive care units of different profiles. According to the developers, their technology will help to monitor patients in middle and severe conditions in real time.

A grant in the amount of 47 million rubles was also issued to SIK Management Group - for the introduction of technological support for automated processing of agricultural land. In addition, UEC-Saturn received from Skolkovo about 20.2 million rubles for the development and implementation of an AI-based platform that allows you to recognize defects in complex products based on the analysis of various types of images.

As Skolkovo said, the implementation of supported pilot projects, among other things, involves the introduction of software for analyzing the state of agricultural crops, a system for supporting medical decision-making, software for optimizing transport costs of the solid municipal waste sector, a system for intelligent modeling of postal logistics processes, an assistant for maintenance of railway infrastructure facilities, an intelligent industrial production management system, etc. Under the terms of the program, financial support can be obtained on the terms of co-financing at least half of the cost of the pilot project. When selecting applications for the competition, the potential for replication and competitiveness of the solution being implemented plays an important role.^[1]

Skolkovo has supported 31 microelectronics startups in 2 years. They received more than 1 billion rubles

In less than two years, the Skolkovo Foundation has provided 31 microelectronics startups with grants totaling more than 1 billion rubles. The press service of the fund told about this in mid-October 2023.

By this time, about 200 applications for participation in the joint program of the fund and the Ministry of Industry and Trade were reportedly sent to Skolkovo. Its participants received financial, analytical, educational, marketing and expert support, access to technologies and industrial services. Each participant was provided with a personal manager to provide consulting assistance and project support. The amount of the grant for the implementation ranged from 10 to 50 million rubles, of which at least 20% was from extrabudgetary sources of financing. Skolkovo experts also helped the centers formulate the terms of reference, finance the relevant development, and enter the markets, including foreign ones.

The program of support for small and medium-sized design centers (up to 200 people) implementing R&D in promising areas of microelectronics has been operating since 2022 under the state program "Development of the electronic and radio-electronic industry in Russia." Among the priority areas of support are projects for the development of an electronic component base, the creation of semiconductor devices, optoelectronics, photonics and intelligent control systems.

According to Alexey Belyakov, Vice President, Executive Director of the Skolkovo Foundation's Advanced Production Technology Cluster, in October 2023, many microelectronics startups supported by Skolkovo have already turned into large companies that have "taken the wing," and annually increase revenue by 30-50%.^[2]

Reimbursing private investors for 50% of investments in a university startup

Skolkovo began reimbursing private investors for 50% of investments in a university startup within the framework of the federal project "Platform of University Technological Entrepreneurship" of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. The press service of the Skolkovo Foundation announced this on July 3, 2023. Read more here.

2022

Issuance of 1.6 billion rubles to IT projects of special value

On January 30, 2023, the Skolkovo Foundation announced the provision of grants in the amount of more than 1.9 billion rubles for the implementation of particularly significant projects (OZP) in the technological sector. The funds were allocated within the framework of the national program "Digital Economy."

According to the press service of Skolkovo, grants were provided at the end of 2022. They received:

• Tyumen Dairy Farms - introduction of the Milk 2.0 cattle herd management system (amount - 192 million rubles);
• FAA TsAGI is one of the world's largest centers of aviation sciences (210 million rubles for the revision of the software and hardware complex of virtual modeling on the basis of domestic supercomputer solutions that allow you to effectively manage engineering data to automate the processes of design and technological preparation of production of high-speed systems);
• Apatit JSC (group PhosAgro"") - two grants for 318.4 million and 136 million rubles were provided;
• AksioSoft (49.2 million rubles);
• Severstal - one grant for 475 million rubles and the second for 600 million rubles.

The fund under the state program within the framework of the federal project "Digital Technologies" co-finances up to 80% of the cost of such projects. Support is provided based on the results of the examination. The key criterion in evaluating the project is the potential for replicating the IT solution among other companies in the industry.

In 2023, the Skolkovo Foundation will continue to implement support measures. The amount of the Skolkovo grant for the implementation of a particularly significant project is up to 700 million rubles. These include projects aimed at import substitution of software.

Industrial competence centers (ICs), consisting of industry customers of IT solutions, have formed a list of especially significant projects. The purpose of such projects is to accelerate the development of the domestic IT industry by replacing foreign software with Russian counterparts. In the future, the projects were considered by industry committees and their list was approved by the presidium of the Government Commission on Digital Development.

Preliminary results of the year

On December 26, 2022, a meeting of the Skolkovo Board of Trustees was held. Preliminary results of the Foundation and Skoltech in 2022 and prospects for 2023 were presented.

In 2022 Skolkovo resident , more than 680 received the status, startups in total, at the end of the year, the ecosystem united about 3.5 thousand small technology companies. The Deputy Chairman of the Security Russia Dmitry Medvedev Council noted that creating conditions for the outstripping growth of Skolkovo participants is one of the key priorities of the innovation center as part of the task of strengthening technological sovereignty countries set by the President. Russia

Russia continues to respond to sanctions aggression. The Skolkovo Foundation was immediately actively involved in the work to strengthen the technological sovereignty of our country. Our task is not only to replace individual commodity items. We need to achieve superiority in all key, vital areas. It is necessary to concentrate as much as possible on the promotion of technology companies-leaders, whose products are in great demand by the state and the market, said Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Skolkovo Foundation.

In 2022, a program was launched to support university startups, including startup studios, acceleration programs, trainings of entrepreneurial competencies. To build cooperation with the real sector of the economy, technology transfer centers are being created. Including the Skolkovo platform R&D Market. The service for December 2022 already unites 743 potential performers, including 90 universities. In 2023, it is planned to connect another 300 companies and educational institutions in the CIS countries. Also, in 2023-24, 6 billion rubles were allocated to reimburse investments of business angels in university startups.

In addition, Skolkovo, together Ministry of Industry and Trade with, implements a program to support small and medium-sized design centers. microelectronics Grant financing for 15 projects with a total volume of 580 million rubles has already been approved. Support for particularly significant projects to replace the foreign one industrial software is carried out jointly with. Ministry of Digital Development 7 projects were selected, the volume of support in 2022 amounted to 1.6 billion rubles.

About 200 participants of the Skolkovo project applied for a service for promotion to international markets, primarily China India Brazil,,,,,. From UAE Iran Indonesia 2023, it is planned to expand the geography of requests for countries -,,. Africa Morocco Algeria REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Skolkovo has formed a center of competence in the field of quantum technologies. It is based on the Russian Quantum Center, Skoltech, as well as a number of startups. The total number of specialists working at Skolkovo on this topic exceeds 500 people. An infrastructure has been created for research in the field of quantum computing, communications, sensorics. And already in 2023, small-scale production of the domestic component base for quantum computers will be launched on the territory of the Innovation Center. Together with the production site in Technopolice "Moscow," where chips developed at Skolkovo will be produced, we are talking about the formation of the so-called full-cycle Quantum Cluster: from research, development to production.

In 2023, Skolkovo will continue to work on the tasks of ensuring technological sovereignty and will begin to implement a new direction: the potential of the ecosystem will be used to create technology holdings through the investment platform SK Capital and ВЭБ.РФ. Among the planned areas of activity are civilian UAVs, cybersecurity, equipment for 5G, digital education, technological oilfield service, production of battery solutions. By 2025, it is planned to create at least 5 technology holdings with revenue of more than 5 billion rubles and a revenue growth rate of more than 30% per year.

Alignment of 2023-25 Startup Support Plan

At the meeting of the Board of Directors, they agreed on the priority areas for the development of Skolkovo and plans for financial support of technological entrepreneurship for 2023 and the planning period until 2025. The Fund announced this on December 21, 2022.

In order to solve the problems of technological sovereignty countries and the formation of conditions for the effective disclosure of the potential of 3.5 thousand Skolkov resident companies in 2023, the implementation of a different direction in the activities of the Fund will begin, which will allow using the potential of the ecosystem to create technological holdings.

Skolkovo and other development organizations of the ВЭБ.РФ group are working to strengthen the country's technological sovereignty. Such a priority task for 2023 was set by the President of Russia. More flexibility is needed here to invest in and manage the portfolio of high-tech projects. We are developing interaction with business, regions, the Moscow government in order to actively use the competencies of Skolkovo and Skoltech in solving urgent problems of scientific and technological development, said Igor Shuvalov, Chairman of the ВЭБ.РФ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Skolkovo Foundation.

The assembly of technology holdings will be ensured by combining the competencies of technology startups, an industrial customer and an industrial partner using various corporate, financial and contract cooperation tools. It is expected that the main assembly mechanism will be an investment platform created jointly with the ВЭБ.РФ, on which the competencies for structuring and managing complex projects will be concentrated. Among the pilot directions are civilian UAVs, cybersecurity, equipment for 5G. By 2025, it is planned to form at least 5 technology holdings with revenues of more than 5 billion rubles, noted Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Board of the Skolkovo Foundation.

The Board of Directors approved the total amount of financial support for technological entrepreneurship under the federal budget subsidy for 2023 will exceed 4.6 billion rubles. It includes both grants and reimbursement of costs, and work within the framework of federal projects operated by Skolkovo:

• the amount of grant support for the first large-scale implementation of Russian solutions in the field IT of the federal project "Digital Technologies" for 2023 will amount to 1,059 million rubles;
• grant financing within the framework of the project "Take-off - from a startup to an IPO" is 855 million rubles, the structure of grants is changing towards an increase in the share of microgranting funding;
• the amount of funding for reimbursement of part of the costs to individuals who have invested in university startups within the framework of the federal project "University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform" in 2023 will amount to 731 million rubles;
• provision of grants for the development of small and medium-sized design centers of electronics within the framework of the state program "Development of the electronic and radio-electronic industry" in the amount of 467 million rubles in 2023;
• the amount of funding to reimburse part of the costs to business angels investing in Skolkovo participating projects in 2023 will amount to 467 million rubles;
• From 2023, the federal budget provides for a new subsidy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia to compensate for part of the costs of Skolkovo participants to pay insurance premiums, the amount of which in 2023 will amount to 1.1 billion rubles, in 2024 - 375 million rubles.

The amount of subsidies from the federal budget for the reimbursement of customs payments to the participants of the Skolkovo project in 2023-2025. remains at the level of 2022 - 225 million rubles annually.

Plan to support import-substituting IT projects with grants of up to 700 million rubles

On November 29, 2022, the Skolkovo Foundation announced the launch of a competition to support particularly significant projects (OZP). These primarily include projects aimed at replacing foreign ON the Russian solutions. Now companies implementing OZP can apply for grants of up to 700 million. rubles The total volume of financings Skolkovo for 2022 will amount to 2.4 billion rubles.

According to the updated version of the Government Decree, projects are among the most significant, the implementation of which is aimed at eliminating the risks and consequences of restrictive measures taken by foreign states in relation to Russia.

To form the list of OZPs, the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia created industrial competence centers (ICCs), consisting of representatives of market leaders. ICCs form a list of projects that further consider and agree on industry committees. The purpose of such projects is to replace foreign software with Russian solutions. After approval by the Presidium of the Legal Commission, these projects are submitted to grant competitions held by the Skolkovo Foundation and RFRIT. The support measure is provided for by the national program "Digital Economy of Russia."

Among the requirements for particularly important projects:

• The Russian ^[3] shall have a technology readiness level not lower than the fifth level;
• the project implementation period is not less than six and not more than 36 months from the launch date;
• Among the results of the implementation of the WBS: the solution was put into commercial operation; the ninth level of technology readiness has been reached;
• The solution is included in the unified register of Russian programs and/or the unified register of Russian radioelectronic products, or the developer has provided an obligation to include the solution in the relevant register during the implementation of the pilot project.

Support recipients - customer companies of Russian IT solutions - are determined based on the results of competitive selection. When evaluating the application, the expert committee primarily assesses the confirmed significance of the project for the industry.

Changing the rules for granting subsidies

In November 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed resolutions approving changes to the rules for granting subsidies to the Russian Information Technology Fund (RFRIT) and the Skolkovo Fund in terms of improving state support for especially significant IT projects. Changes have been made in terms of improving the mechanism of state support for particularly significant projects, including:

• additional requirements for particularly important projects and grant recipients implementing them;
• increasing the maximum grant size and the period of implementation of particularly significant projects;
• financial support for particularly important projects is carried out by the operator on a priority basis;
• competitive selection can be announced to support only particularly significant projects;
• penalties are not applied to the grant recipient if the revealed violations of the procedure and conditions for granting the grant are the result of mobilization in the Russian Federation;
• mandatory quarterly report of the operator to the Ministry of Digital Development on the progress of implementation of particularly significant projects.

According to Kommersant, by the end of November 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development is preparing an alternative mechanism to support IT companies that want to receive state support to replace foreign software. The government is preparing two "road maps," within the framework of which it will offer Russian developers preferences in the public procurement market. Initially, the ministry planned to finance their projects through grants from the Russian Information Technology Support Fund (RFRIT) and the Skolkovo Foundation. However, according to the newspaper, the allocated funds are not enough for all approved projects. According to experts interviewed by the publication, support through public procurement "does not meet the signs of a competitive market."

On November 1, 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development reported that RFRIT and the Skolkovo Foundation received 14 billion rubles for the allocation of grants in terms of the development of the IT industry in Russia.^[4]

Opening a representative office in India

On November 15, 2022, the official representative office of the Skolkovo Foundation will be opened in New Delhi, India. This was reported to TAdviser on November 14, 2022 by representatives of Skolkovo. It is expected that this step will strengthen cooperation between the Russian and Indian technological communities and simplify the withdrawal of high-tech products to local markets.

In its work, the representative office will rely on the experience of cooperation with partners - the Indian Chamber of International Business (ICIB), the National Agency for the Promotion and Promotion of Investment of India Invest India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the National Association of Service Companies (NASSCOM) and other institutes with the support of the Embassy and the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in India.

"India is obviously a point of attraction for technology companies from all over the world: in 2022, its economy grew by 6.5%, and the share of GDP in the information and computer technology sector - 13%. The start of the Skolkovo representative office in India opens up wide opportunities for the entire community of Russian technology companies to enter a new market with great potential. Our task is to speed up and simplify this process for Skolkovo residents and partners, "said Yuri Saprykin, Vice President for Regional and International Development of the Skolkovo Foundation.

The main areas of the representative office's work are the support of transactions between Indian companies and startups and partners of Skolkovo, the promotion of the Fund and its services for foreign companies, the organization of visits and support for participation in business events, consultations, educational programs and research.

The Skolkovo representative office in India will be headed by Mikhail Gusev, who has extensive experience in this country. According to the fund, Mikhail established a pool of business contacts with representatives of the government and business of the republic, and also implemented a number of joint projects with Indian partners.

Launch, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, of an accelerator to support small and medium-sized design centers for electronics

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and the Skolkovo Foundation are launching an accelerator to support small and medium-sized design centers for electronics. The Foundation announced this on October 18, 2022. Accelerator participants will be able to receive grants, as well as marketing, mentoring and expert support. The program was created and developed by the Skolkovo Foundation and is aimed at supporting the design of microelectronic devices and an electronic component base.

Design centers that have been selected for the accelerator will have the right to apply for a grant, mentoring, expert support and assistance in accessing technologies and industrial services.

Participants will also be supported at the stages of manufacturing prototypes and samples of products, organizing logistics and customs clearance of materials and samples, testing products, registration of intellectual property, organizing interaction with potential customers. Participation in the accelerator is free. As a result, enterprises will be able to receive revenue from the sale of created products or attract investments in the further development of the project.

The amount financings of the Accelerator for 2022 and 2023 will be 1 billion. rubles Support startups is an integral part of industries our microelectronic development strategy. countries It is necessary to increase and effectively use the potential of small design centers to create new products and technologies. This support measure should contribute to the formation of more comfortable conditions for the emergence of new design centers for electronics and the development of existing companies, "said the Deputy Minister industries and Russia trade. Vasily Shpak

The Skolkovo grant will allow the design center to carry out a comprehensive project, including research and development work (R&D), as well as activities aimed at commercializing microelectronic products. The accelerator participant can choose one of the appropriate financial support measures.

This tool from Skolkovo and the Ministry of Industry and Trade involves two types of financial support - grants for R&D up to 50 million rubles. with own funding of at least 20% and grants to finance the costs of design centers for prototyping, intellectual property protection, testing and certification, the purchase of components and other goals in the amount of 500 thousand rubles. up to 10 million rubles. In addition to financial support, the Skolkovo Foundation will provide small design centers with assistance in finding customers, "commented Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Board of the Skolkovo Foundation .

Funding will cover up to 100% of the application budget in the first year and 80% from the second year. The duration of R&D for both programs is up to 24 months, while the duration of the project can be no more than 36 months. In addition to grants, the accelerator participant can apply for the help of the Fund's experts in bringing the project to the commercial phase.

Among the supported technological areas: microprocessor architectures, electronic component base and its components, software and hardware complexes, optoelectronics products, radiophotonics and photonics, medical equipment, automotive electronics and others.

The main criteria for the selection of projects are commercialization prospects, project team experience, possible risks and project estimates, as well as goals and action plan. Also, during the selection, the expert council will take into account such criteria as: participation in cross-cutting projects, participation in current R&D, the presence of a scientific and technical reserve, experience in implementations and sales.

In order to apply for a grant, companies do not have to be a Skolkovo resident, as well as have the official status of an "electronics design center." The design center should belong to the category of SMEs, the revenue for the current or previous financial years should be at least 1 million rubles. or investments of at least 500 thousand rubles, the number of developers from 3 to 100 people. The participant should carry out R&D in priority areas, including cross-cutting projects, according to the current industry development strategy.

Launch of the accelerator of IT projects together with RFRIT and the National PPP Center

RFRIT, the Skolkovo Foundation and the National PPP Center on September 16, 2022 announced the launch of an IT accelerator designed to increase the number of PPP projects in the field of information technology and increase the efficiency of their implementation. The creation of the program is provided for by a cooperation agreement concluded by RFRIT, the Skolkovo Foundation and the National PPP Center.

The accelerator for the selection and preparation of such initiatives was launched on the basis of the Rosinfra platform, operated by the National PPP Center. Read more here.

Allocation of 3.1 billion rubles from the Government of the Russian Federation to reimburse investments in university startups

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved the provision of a subsidy to the Skolkovo Foundation to reimburse part of the costs of individuals for investments in university startups. The Skolkovo Foundation announced this on July 6, 2022. The program will be implemented within the framework of the federal project "Platform of University Technological Entrepreneurship" and will allow startups in the next three years to attract about 6 billion rubles of private investment, of which individuals will be able to reimburse about 3 billion rubles.

Investors financing university technology startups will be able to compensate up to 50% of the costs, but no more than 100% of the amount of personal income tax paid for the three preceding years, and no more than 20 million rubles for investments in one startup. Reimbursement of part of the costs is provided to a business angel if the amount of his investment in one university startup is at least 500 thousand rubles.

Startups will be able to direct funds to research and development or commercialize the results of intellectual activity. At the same time, projects must have elements of scientific and technical novelty, as well as undergo an independent examination of the Skolkovo Foundation.

Startups will be able to attract investments under the program, in the authorized capital of which part of the shares (shares) belongs to students, recent graduates, scientific and pedagogical workers of universities, university startup studios or universities. A complete list of requirements for startups and investors can be found at the link.

We plan that due to this program of support for student technological entrepreneurship, our pool of business angels will expand significantly. Previously, it was limited by the possibility of investing only in participants in the Skolkovo project. Now there will be a wider register of interesting startups, the number of companies and areas will increase significantly, - said Sergey Krzhanovsky, vice president for grants, expertise and tender activities of the Skolkovo Foundation.

Increase in grants for pilot implementation of Russian IT solutions to 300 million rubles

The amount of grants from Skolkovo for pilot implementation the Russian IT of solutions increased to 300 million rubles. The Fund announced this on April 8, 2022.

The total amount of funding for the program for 2022 increased from 1.2 billion to 2.4 billion rubles. And the requirements for extrabudgetary funding have decreased from 50% to 20% - now up to 80% of the project estimate can be funded by a grant.

The updated conditions will help accelerate the introduction of domestic IT developments of startups for import substitution and digital business transformation. The support measure is provided for by the federal project "Digital Technologies" of the national program "Digital Economy of Russia."

Skolkovo was one of the initiators of changing the terms of the program - increasing the maximum grant amount from 120 to 300 million rubles and expanding state funding for the project to 80%. These measures will help to promote promising developments of startups in the field of digital technologies. Skolkovo has been implementing the program since 2019, during which time support has been provided to 24 pilot projects for the introduction of domestic IT developments for import substitution and digital business transformation. The projected cumulative economic effect based on the results of the replication of the implemented developments by 2024 will amount to about 11.8 billion rubles, said Igor Drozdov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Skolkovo Foundation.

The funds are allocated based on the results of the competitive selection conducted by the Skolkovo Foundation. In the next 2 weeks, the Fund plans to amend the tender documentation in accordance with the updated conditions for financing projects that were determined by the Government.

Companies can receive support if the project meets the following conditions:

• compliance of the IT solution with one of the priority areas of state support for projects (the list of directions is given in the tender documentation)
• potential for further replication of the IT solution by the developer
• IT solution technology readiness level is not lower than the 5th SCT, which makes it possible to implement the implementation in a short time (the maximum implementation period is 2.5 years)
• Implementing an IT solution improves the cost-effectiveness of the customer's business.

In March 2022, the selection conditions have already undergone some changes. The list of necessary documents as part of the application has been reduced. The list of sources of extrabudgetary funding for the project has expanded. In addition, budgetary institutions can now receive a grant.

The support measure was launched in 2019. According to the results of competitive selection 2019-2021, the Fund supported 24 pilot projects totaling 1.657 billion rubles. Among them are enterprises, industries,, health care,, formations agriculture constructions etc.

In 2022, the Skolkovo Foundation plans to support at least 10 pilot projects.

Arkady Dvorkovich's departure from the post of chairman of the fund

March 18, 2022 it became known about the departure of Arkady Dvorkovich from the post of chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation. The resignation was announced a few days after Dvorkovich, in an interview with the American publication Mother Jones, said that he opposed Russia's special operation in Ukraine and expressed support for Ukrainians in the war zone. Read more here.

2021

Appointment by the operator of state support for the testing of Russian AI technologies

In early September 2021, it became known about the appointment of the Skolkovo Foundation as an operator of state support for the testing of Russian artificial intelligence technologies. We are talking about grant support totaling 5 billion rubles. The amount of each grant will be from 20 to 100 million rubles, the money will be provided to IT projects in priority industries until 2024.

Developers with exclusive rights to the solution being implemented, as well as relevant experience and resources, will be able to count on financial support. Companies whose shareholders include the state will not be able to participate in the program.

Such a tool will allow our companies to form success stories and examples of future real cases. We will be able to provide a springboard for startups that allows us to overcome the barrier of the first large-scale implementation and get a solid portfolio for entering the market, "said Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladislav Fedulov.

According to Arkady Dvorkovich, chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation, the purpose of the competition is to support the best Russian developers by stimulating demand and accelerating the digital transformation of industries. Particular attention will be paid to projects related to the implementation of the first Russian innovative AI solution.

A business that has assumed the risks of introducing a new technology, on the basis of co-financing, receives state support, reducing the risks of pilot implementation. It is important for us to stimulate projects that will give a powerful impetus to the replication of domestic solutions and the transformation of entire industries based on Russian digital products, he added.

Deputy Head of the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation, Head of the Center for Expertise for the Implementation of the Federal Project "Artificial Intelligence" Sergei Nakvasin believes that state support for such initiatives allows corporations to receive strong expert support from participants in the AI ecosystem.^[5]

Launch of a hub for EdTech companies

The Skolkovo Foundation (ВЭБ.РФ Group) on September 1, 2021 announced the launch of a hub for EdTech companies. The Hyperkub-based platform will bring together startups, investors and experts. Teams developing innovations in education will have access to HR and PR support, the services of lawyers, mentors, methodologists and producers. It is assumed that the Hub will become a point of holding major industry events, accelerators and intensives.

The main goal of the EdTech hub ― the development of business ideas and innovative projects in the field of education, as well as the rapid launch of finished products on the market. Active networking, meetings with investors and customers will help to analyze market requests in more detail and build interaction models. In addition, the site will simplify communication between edtech startups and Foundation partners such as Skoltech, NTI, Ministry of Education, MSU Valley and others.

"A critical mass of good projects and ideas exist in the field of EdTech, but they are either far from a global market entry or they are doing it too slowly. This happens because each individually does not have enough resources for a large-scale implementation. In some cases, this concerns the unification of efforts, and somewhere these are already issues of combating many difficulties facing such companies, "― said Konstantin Parshin, Vice President, Executive Director of the Information Technology Cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation.

The EdTech hub is designed to solve this problem: startups will be offered assistance in creating a product and testing it. Mentors from successful EdTech companies will direct the project on the right track and provide support when entering the market, building sales and accompanying transactions. The importance of creating an EdTech hub was noted in the ВЭБ.РФ.

"We want to be closer to those who bring new things to the education system. Innovative edtech startups are, in fact, those who change approaches to education through proximity to consumers and a clear understanding of the need for both children and adults. And the EdTech hub, in turn, will help bring successful projects and development organizations closer together, including ВЭБ.РФ. For many, we can become an investor and customer. For example, within the framework of our ProSchool school construction project, in addition to the basic infrastructure, we would like to bring certain innovative equipment, new educational equipment and information systems. We understand that it is impossible to do this without EdTech market participants, "― said Alisa Denisova, head of the department" Creating an educational environment ВЭБ.РФ. "

The EdTech hub's core activities include:

• Own educational programs;
• Relevant, system-forming measures;
• Corporate HR digitalization and training projects;
• Accelerator and consulting services to edtech startups;
• Integration and promotion of edtech projects;
• Video studios and services for the production of content and educational programs to order;
• Edtech Lab/show-room. Pilot zones, edtech hackathons;
• Pediatric DPO and career guidance.

According to representatives of the Skolkovo Foundation, the creation of a hub in the field of EdTech meets modern trends: it is this area that has been growing rapidly in recent years. So, in 2020, the revenue of residents of the Skolkovo Foundation increased by 70%, and EdTech-startups increased multiply. This gives reason to believe that growth in this direction will not slow down, and the digitalization of the general education industry will begin to gain momentum in the near future.

"Our task is to make the EdTech hub a point of attraction so that companies themselves are interested in placement. We are creating a showroom of solutions where representatives of startups will be able to demonstrate their products, interact with experts, investors, corporations, the state and find large customers, "said Renat Batyrov, General Director of the Skolkovo Technopark.

Launch of the Russian accelerator of projects in the field of Big Data

The Skolkovo Foundation (ВЭБ.РФ Group) on August 5, 2021 announced the opening of applications for participation in the Data Explorer program - the Russian accelerator of projects in the field of big data. The program was developed jointly with the Big Data Association with the participation of Yandex, Megafon, Beeline, Magnit, MTS and others. Applications are accepted until September 1.

The program takes place online and lasts 9 weeks. 10 to 15 companies participate in the recruitment, which allows you to work with each team individually. The Data Explorer methodology is based on the experience of the technology company development program Skolkovo Tech Explorer. The program includes diagnostic sessions on the assessment of the project from industry experts, master classes, webinars and consulting sessions on aspects of technology, business, sales, attracting investments, forming presentations and more than 40 different events.

Sergey Khodakov, Director for Operations of the Skolkovo Foundation Information Technology Cluster, said: "We are pleased to announce the launch of a big data project acceleration program. Graduates of the program attract funding, scale business, enter new markets. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to partner with the "Big Data Association" and the largest customers, including to find and attract new promising teams and projects. I am confident that the agenda of the participants in the acceleration program will be saturated with pilot launches and examples of successful cooperation that enriches the Russian market with breakthrough technologies and solutions. "

The program will be interesting:

• Technology startups or student projects with Big Data solutions from MVP stage and above;
• Mature tech companies looking to relaunch their Big Data business or product;
• To angels and venture capital fund representatives seeking to drive growth in their portfolio companies;
• Companies that have a request to use computing resources, data sets, cloud services and other Big Data capabilities.

According to representatives of the Skolkovo Foundation, Data Explorer will help attract new customers and external financing, organize systemic sales growth, and form a business scaling strategy. Program participants will have the opportunity to get into Fast Track to receive the status of a Skolkovo resident.

Each program participant is guaranteed to receive:

• Access to the ABD sandbox - an infrastructure service for conducting experiments, with the ability to deploy your own solution. Financial equivalent of the service: 450 000/350 000 rubles;
• Access to additional Yandex services. Financial equivalent of the service: 50,000 rubles (+ 200,000 rubles to the selected winners);
• Access to partner datacets - industrial and cross-industrial data. Financial equivalent of the service, taking into account the projected number of datacets: ~ 1,000,000 rubles;
• At least 10 expert consultations on the topics: "Market," "Value Proposition," "Technology," "Business Model," "Scaling." Financial equivalent of the service: ~ 100,000 rubles.

The final financial equivalent of the services provided under the program will be more than 1,600,000 rubles for each participating company. A number of partners guarantee compensation for participation and payment of the pilot, selected companies in partner nominations.

Formation of a new board of directors

At the end of January 2021, the Skolkovo Foundation elected a new board of directors. It included 13 members, among whom were new:

• Yandex CEO Elena Bunina;
• General Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriyev;
• Chairman of the Board of Rusnano Management Company Sergei Kulikov;
• President of the Moscow School of Management "Skolkovo" Andrei Sharonov.

In addition, the following remained on the board of directors of the Skolkovo Foundation:

• Igor Shuvalov (chairman);
• Honorary President of the Technical University of Munich Wolfgang Herrmann (Deputy Chairman);
• Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Viktor Vekselberg;
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Skolkovo Venture Investments LLC Pekka Viljakainen;
• Almaz Capital Managing Partner Alexander Galitsky;
• Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation Arkady Dvorkovich;
• President of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" Mikhail Kovalchuk;
• Rector of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Alexander Kuleshov;
• Vice President of Cisco for Work in Russia and SNGDjonathan Sparrow.

At the same time, the Board of Directors of the Skolkovo Foundation approved a set of strategic key performance indicators (KPIs) for 2021. The KPI system is aimed at maximizing investments in projects that affect the achievement of Russian national development goals, while maintaining the institution's own financial efficiency.

According to Igor Shuvalov, the decisions made on performance indicators and changes in the composition of governing bodies are provided for by the government's roadmap for reforming development institutions.

The goal of the reform is to synchronize and reorient the work of our entire large team towards achieving development goals. The Skolkovo Foundation is an important center of expertise in the innovation field here, "he said.[6]

Allocation of 80 million rubles for the project of Russian Railways "Cloud Factory of Software Robots"

The company Russian Railway technology"" (a subsidiary of OJSC RUSSIAN RAILWAY"") together with the development company LLC Robin"" are implementing a project to create software robot platforms for the industry transportlogistic. This was reported TAdviser to Russian Railways on January 26, 2021.

The corresponding project called "Cloud Factory of Software Robots" received support from the Skolkovo Foundation for the introduction of Russian digital solutions within the framework of the federal project "Digital Technologies." The amount of the grant amounted to 80 million rubles. Read more here.

2020

Election of Igor Shuvalov as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Skolkovo Foundation

Chairman of the State Development Corporation VEB.RFIgory Shuvalov is included in the Board of Directors of the Skolkovo Foundation and was elected its Chairman. This decision was made at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Skolkovo Foundation on December 29, 2020. Read more here.

Investing 30 million rubles of investment in the developer of early diagnosis tests of Parkinson's disease

November 17, 2020 it became known about attracting "Center for Early Diagnosis of Neurodegenerative Diseases "(NDD CDC) investments in the amount of 30 million. rubles A fund has invested in the developer of the early diagnosis system for Parkinson's disease, "" the Skolkovo report said. Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan (IVF RT) More. here

2015: Skolkovo IT infrastructure is entirely built on American equipment

In May 2015, the fund announced a request for prices^[7] for the provision of maintenance services for its information and computing complex (IVC). From the TA to the request, it turned out that the complex was almost completely built on American computing and telecommunications equipment.

It follows from the document that the IVK is geographically distributed: the resources of the complex are located at four sites in Moscow, three of which are based on the territory of the Skolkovo innovation center and two in other cities - in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

To support the fund, several dozen physical servers are used, the vast majority of which are Dell PowerEdge servers. Dell is also the manufacturer of the storage systems, disk arrays and tape libraries used in the IVC. In addition to it, IVC uses servers of the HP Proliant line in small numbers .

As for network equipment, Cisco is the manufacturer of all routers and switches used in the Skolkovo Foundation's IVC, according to the TA.

The IVC infrastructure uses a significant number of virtual servers, and PostgreSQL and MS SQL work as DBMS.

As part of the contract for technical support of the IVC, the contractor must organize round-the-clock monitoring of server equipment, network equipment and security equipment. He should also organize a technical support service responsible for operating equipment, diagnosing and localizing faults. The technical support service should also implement the first support line for application systems.

2014: "Cognitive Technologies" through the court receive 80 million rubles of debt from the Skolkovo Development Fund

On February 26, 2014, the Board of the Supreme Arbitration Court issued a Ruling on the refusal to transfer the case to the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court on the claim of Cognitive Technologies LLC against the Non-Profit Organization Development Fund of the Center for the Development and Commercialization of New Technologies in Debt Collection under the agreement on the development of the concept "Smart city of Skolkovo." Thus, the Board of the Supreme Arbitration Court of Moscow confirmed the decisions of the Arbitration Court of Moscow dated 07.05.2013. Of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated 16.08.2013 Decisions of the Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District of 30.10.2013 The decision to recover from the fund the benefit of the company was collected 80,765,100 rubles of debt and 610,786 rubles of interest for the use of other people's money entered into legal force.

Cognitive Technologies filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Arbitration Court to recover from the Non-Profit Organization the Development Fund of the Center for the Development of Commercialization of New Debt Technologies under the contract for the development of the Smart city of Skolkovo concept for the period from 03.10.2012. by 05.11.2012

The consortium, which, together with the Cognitive Technologies company, included the world's leading companies, and developed Ernst&Young Cisco Panasonic the Skolkovo Smart City Concept, which combined materials on socio-economic, investment and technological strategies for creating the Skolkovo Innovation Center and Smart City. The authors of the Concept relied on sociological and conceptual bases, the results of sociological research, an analysis of the preferences and ideas of domestic innovators about the Smart City. World experience in urban studies was used - about 20 works by R. Florida, Jan Gehl, J. Jacobs, Jane, etc., as well as experience in creating various smart cities and campuses of the world - Singapore, Bangalore, Fujisawa, Endhoven, New York, Copenhagen, San Tokyo Google Pixar Campus, Hong Kong, Campus, Shanghai, Campus, Campus, Campus

The concept "Smart City" Skolkovo "was tested at five round tables, which united all the main directions of the innovative sector: the scientific community, innovators, investors, foreign specialists, representatives of innovative business. It was recommended by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation to the Government of the Russian Federation for implementation in the regions and large cities of Russia.

All works were performed in accordance with the terms of reference and within the terms stipulated by the contract, which is recorded in the relevant documents.

Despite this, the defendant, the Non-Profit Organization Development Fund of the Center for the Development of Commercialization of New Technologies, refused to pay for the work performed and terminated the contract unilaterally.

During the proceedings, the court was presented with all documents confirming the plaintiff's position, the review of the Expert Advisory Council for the implementation of the Smart City program for the implementation of the Concept dated 10.07.2012 No. 3, the review of the Deputy Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Russian Technologies Group of Companies. Having considered the case on the merits, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled on the satisfaction of the claim, which was confirmed successively by the decisions of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal, by the Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District.

Notes