HardTech Round has received 270 industrial high-tech projects – the competition remains open for entries

During the first month, 270 projects from 22 countries and 90 cities were entered in the competition. Most projects are aimed at tackling issues related to security (25%), energy efficiency (23%), and increasing efficiency in the oil and gas sector (22%). The most common technologies among entrants include software for the B2B market (29%), the Internet of Things (22%) and robotics and additive technologies (15%). Of all entrants, 105 companies are already generating revenue and 90 companies have successfully raised external financing in the form of investment or grants.

Following the evaluation of entries, nine projects were invited to take part in pitch sessions with the Expert Council and to begin negotiations to receive investment from Rusnano Sistema SICAR:

• Action Recognition: new generation video-analytics on the basis of a unique method of analysis of dynamic scenes;
• VR Concept: virtual reality software for 3D engineering and design models;
• i-TOR: digital transformers for accurate measurement of energy consumption at any point of the power grid;
• Production of borosilicate microspheres and development of materials on its basis;
• Agrobot system for automation of agricultural equipment: a universal robotic tractor that significantly increases the efficiency of farms and agricultural holdings;
• Combustion catalyst that increases heat generation, ensures complete combustion of fuel and reduces the impact on the environment;
• A method for increasing the efficiency of heat exchangers using a specially designed heat-exchange surface with a multi-functional polymer coating;
• Heat conducting polymer composite for heat transfer in the LED-industry;
• CPS Solutions and Wearables for Business: development of comprehensive solutions using IoT technologies, local positioning systems and wearable devices to boost the efficiency of businesses and increase industrial safety.

While experts continue negotiations with the selected companies, the competition organisers have extended the deadline for submission of entries by one month due to the great interest of potential participants in the competition. Entrants include projects in the field of industrial technologies at the commercial prototype and scale-up stages. The top projects from the second round of entries will also be invited to pitch sessions. All finalists will be able to present their projects at the Moscow International Forum Open Innovations.

Rusnano Sistema SICAR's potential investment in the project of the HardTech Round winner is up to USD 10m. The winner in the special Smart Technology for Smart Cities category established by MTS will have an opportunity to take part in MTS’ programme aimed at supporting innovative technological start-ups and will be eligible for a subsidised pilot project to develop and launch its solution in partnership with one of the largest technology companies in Russia and the CIS.

The HardTech Round jury includes President of Sistema Andrey Dubovskov, Deputy Chairman of Sistema's Board of Directors Felix Evtushenkov, Head of Investment Division K and Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of RUSNANO Management Company Oleg Kiselev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Executive Director of RUSNANO Management Company Boris Podolsky, Managing Partners of Sistema Vsevolod Rozanov and Alexey Katkov and Managing Partner of Almaz Capital Partners Alexander Galitsky.

The competition is open for entries until 18 May 2018. Visit the website www.gotech.vc/hard/en.   

The competition is organised by Rusnano Sistema SICAR with the support of Sistema Group, Rusnano Group and MTS. The operator of HardTech Round is GoTech.

About Rusnano Sistema SICAR

Rusnano Sistema SICAR is a private equity & venture capital fund with $100 million under management established by Sistema and RUSNANO in August 2016. The fund was set up for a seven-year investment period that may be extended, and is open to outside investors. The fund's investment focus is the technology sector. The average single investment size is $3-20 million for growth-stage companies or late venture stage companies with working products. At the end of 2017, the fund had invested $16 million, including in Apis Cor, a developer and manufacturer of unique 3D printers for the construction industry, GEOSPLIT, a developer of an innovative system for the monitoring of oil-producing well inflow profiles, as well as other companies.

The fund’s website: www.rss-fund.com