This Week in Russian Tech: Deals Jan 14

WELLNESS

> Sayana, an AI-based mental health app launched by Russian founders and Y Combinator alums Sergey Fayfer (CEO) and Alexander Baranov (CTO), was acquired by Headspace Health.

Headspace said the app will help it “provide personalized self-care content to its growing global member base.”

EDUCATION

> Softline, an IT provider listed in London, acquired an 85% stake in Academy IT, a training and consulting platform that works with over 10,000 clients across financial, energy and transportation sectors.

SIDE HUSTLE TECH

> Sistema SmartTech fund invested 50 million rubles ($658,000) into MyGig platform, a location-based app for side hustles. The fund led the 120-million round, with Altus Capital participating. [Source: RB.ru]

FINTECH

> London-based biometrics-based payments startup DigiDoe, led by Alexandra Vidyuk, raised a $1.1 million round from Sergei Dashkov and individual investors. (Vidyuk gave birth at the same time as she was closing the round, you go girl.)  [Sources: RB.ru, Retail Technology Innovation Hub]

CRYPTO

> The parent company of Tinkoff Bank bought a majority stake in a Swiss crypto startup Aximetria from VC firm Digital Horizon. Aximetria, which provides free crypto accounts for clients globally, was founded by former MTS Alex Axelrod in 2018. TCS plans to develop the startup “as part of Tinkoff Group’s international expansion,” Reuters reported.  [Source: Reuters]

CAN’T GET ENOUGH SAAS

These deals follow a trend from last month, when software was the most popular investment category followed by EdTech according to data compiled by RB.ru.

> Qiwi Technologies, a subsidiary of the payments provider QIWI, acquired an 80% stake in SaaS platform Taxiaggregator. Andrey Protopopov, CEO of NASDAQ-listed QIWI, said the investment will help the company cement their position in the taxi market, which he called one of their “key self-employed niches that are rapidly growing underpinned by overall digitization of payments.” [Source: QIWI]

> OneNotary, a startup led by a Ukraine-born CEO Ivan Zinkov, launched last year and focused on the US market. The company raised a $1.75 million round to create a digital notarization solution in “any SaaS solution within hours.” The round was led by TMT Investors, with Adventures Lab VC, GoodPaper Venture, Digital Future VC participating.