Of the RVC are big

Last year, the RMC was able to demonstrate tangible momentum. In 2009, according to the reporting RVC, the pace of investment has changed slightly - 1.3 billion against 1.2 billion rubles a year earlier. However, in 2010 investment was almost doubled, increasing to 2.7 billion rubles. In 2010, the total investment funds with MERs for the entire period of the corporation exceeded 6 billion. Seven funds previously created with the direct participation of the RVC in 2010, received 44 proposals, of which 17 projects approved, according to the materials RVC. Five of them were launched in late 2008 - early 2009's. "The funds were held during the second wave of market entry, analysis of the original project proposals, partner search, performance and first deals came to a stable operating activities - said director of programs and projects RVC Andrew Vvedensky. - One or two deals in the initial period - it is important for the Fund and is now in the portfolio of each fund is the second wave of 3-5 projects. " At the same time in only one newly created Seed Fund (PEF) filed a venture partners 130 investment applications, of which 20 projects selected. Total assets in the portfolios at the end of the RVC in 2010 there were 58 companies - that is, nearly two-thirds of the projects submitted within the last year. In 2010, representatives of the RVC were also introduced to the trustees of 22 regional venture capital investment in small enterprises in scientific-technical sphere, created by the Program of Economic Development. All of these funds in 2010 were endorsed by 18 of 37 submitted projects totaling over 0.7 billion rubles. The key achievement in 2010 was the conclusion to the RVC Foundation "VTB - Venture Fund" on the IPO of the company "Russian Navigation Technologies", collected in July 300 million rubles for 18% of its shares. "From the standpoint of history, they have already entered the textbooks, it is a very great success - and ours, and the company that took all the classic path of technological venture: seed and angel investing, team building, startups, venture capital stage itself, and finally, IPO» - commented director of investment and expertise MER Yan Ryazantsev. Master for the year of 2.7 billion rubles - this is not enough, a corporation with a budget of 30 billion rubles-lei can expect more, the head of "Innovation Center Kulikova," Vadim Kulikov. However, it is clear that in 2011 and 2012 will be an annual increase of fold and the main tool for this will become niche funds, he said. The volume of investments is determined by the company's strategy: if the RVC is going to invest funds available to it for 10 years, the current pace can be considered normal, if in less time - that is to accelerate, says managing partner of Almaz Capital Partners, Alexander Galich. "Nevertheless, growth is not bad, the strategy expanded to include new tools and understanding of the venture community has appeared, which moves RVC" - he said. Biobum. More than half invested in 2010 funds (1.4 billion) in funds MERs had on medicine and pharmacy. Due to a sharp increase in the last year the share of health care projects, the share of investments in industrial production, formerly prevailed in investments RVC, at the end of 2007-2010 decreased to 44%. For a significant surge in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals is both subjective and objective reasons, says Andrew Vvedensky. Just two biotech fund MERs - "Maxwell Biotech" and "Bioprocess Capital Ventures" - involved in operational work and in 2010 made a number of deals with biotechnology - the capital-intensive business, so that the average deal size is larger. Also on the result is affected by government programs and grants to support targeted funding: more projects began to appear early, and some of them coming in the DRF. The main thing is that the market is in an era of solutions integrated with biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, says a representative of the RVC, if this was once a "boom" of information technology, now has all the prerequisites to a similar place was taken by biotechnology, he said. "New areas closer to venture capital investments: the venture to start the project should be able to predict the growth of the company for a reasonable period, but 10 years ago it was difficult for biotech," - I agree Alexander Galitsky. Now it is clear that the next 5-10 years we can expect a breakthrough in quantum technology, creating new materials, biotechnology, he said. "Biotechnology and environmentally" clean "technologies have become the main trend - now on focus on these areas say nearly half of the funds in Silicon Valley. As one of her "Silicon" has turned into the 'software', so now it becomes a "Biotech Valley", and in this segment is still a lot of room for all ", - says Vadim Kulikov. Now the "Innovation Center" leads to the RVC negotiations on the establishment of seed fund "clean" technologies of 2 billion rubles. "RVC strongly affects the formation of the market segment in biotechnology is just not enough seeding tool, the approach was non-system - continues to Kulikov. - It is now known about the formation in Russia at least three private venture capital funds, "the number-mentioned technologies," and they just may be the buyers of projects developed in our gliding seed funds. " However, the successful development of some industries do not compensate for a lack of projects in other areas: missing projects in energy, materials science, mechanical engineering. Hampered not only by unavailability of private investors to play "vdolguyu", but also the complexity out of a project such as the market for such solutions is often a narrow one: "In the IT-sector and biotechnology to understand how and where to" go out "- for the same sector is critically important growth interest from large companies ", - says Andrey Vvedensky. At the same time and with the IT-sector big investors becoming increasingly difficult. "The industry has low barriers to entry, it is completely integrated into the global business, and the distance to the market in such a project is minimal because of online solutions - this is the easiest and cheapest transport, so that private investors do not always need to attract a partner and are willing to risk yourself, "- he explains. "The bubble has not burst, but inflated: it is enough to recall the developer tools from Apple and Google, and it becomes clear - a simple programmer a lot of opportunities, do not take a genius to make money, if not millions, tens of thousands of dollars without any marketing costs, - I agree Vadim Kulikov. - So now in this sector can be claimed maximum business angels. " IT-sector as it was, and remains a rapidly growing, because it changes the picture in all sectors, Alexander Galitsky objection: that is, the growth of any sector is not possible without an increase in the corresponding direction of information technology, and hence the demand for investment in IT will continue for a long time. In the IT sector is an attractive investment areas where the tools of business support from the government will work, says Vvedensky. For example, this year's MER is going to create a fund that focuses on so-called embedded intelligent systems. That is bad. In 2010, the industry portfolio MER added as two new sectors - "construction materials" (34.8 million rubles), and "alternative energy" (300 million). The latter clearly associated with one of the overseas projects MER: Registered in the UK fund Russian Venture Capital I LP's $ 10 million was created for participation in a pool of investors BrightSource Energy Inc. - The world's largest provider of solar thermal power plants are already at the time of the transaction which took contracts for the construction of solar thermal power plants with total capacity of 2.6 GW (for comparison: the power of Russia's largest Sayano-is 6.4 GW). The second project - Fund for Russian Venture Capital II LP of the same size, did not affect the relationship between invested sectors, since he was part of a larger international fund Institutional Venture Partners. Now, the fund manages assets of $ 2.2 billion, and total invested over the lifetime of more than three hundred companies, 85 of which became public - for participation in fund received $ 5.5 billion These transactions are of interest not only potential financial impact and participation in them is not dictated by the shortage of domestic projects. The fact that the project involved such BrightSource world's largest investors, Morgan Stanley, Chevron, BP, Statoil, Alstom, and other ways to attract them to work together almost was not. "We are seeing a growing interest of international players in search of part-ners to work here, and it is no secret that one of the goals of our international transactions - a demonstration of the fact that in Russia there are competent partners for collaboration and co-investment", - says Andrey Vvedensky. Trades are good, but the MERs should be more active in foreign markets, according to Kulikov. In times of crisis, Russia was one of the few who have the means to venture capital investments, whereas the majority of markets complain of shortages. "When there is competition not for projects and for the money, you need to use the opportunity to buy the best designs - sure Vadim Kulikov. - There are strong foundations that already a few years can not find the money, and one of the available ways to quickly build a portfolio - to offer such funds co-finance their existing projects. " Alexander Galitsky believes that companies should participate in any funds that have a strategic interest for Russia: human resources, market attractiveness of the country or to the innovation capital. Also, the market situation can be used for training, the lack of which complain of all market participants. "There are many ideas, but no commands. Frames can either bring in or train for example, to invest jointly with the major players and train staff, introducing them into projects as a board member or observer "- he explains. Sowing optimization. In a constant consideration of the Seed Fund MERs are more than fifty pre-orders. DCF formed in the first half, the network of venture partners and significantly boosted her for the second half - to 75 companies across the country. "The work goes on at the regional level and technology clusters, which showed its worth in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, - the director of FPI Alex Teleshev. - As a result, we have a portfolio of seed stock for 20 deals - and this is a serious outcome, if only because so far nothing of the kind in the Russian market was not. " And he said, the fund has projects in the near future will show first on the market. Now working on a fund in order to "automate" - to simplify and accelerate the process of investment projects with small amounts of funding (3-7 million). The possibility of creating a matrix of conditions for the projects on which partner will be able to evaluate itself and the reaction time the fund, and the maximum amount of investment. "We have simplified the procedure of filing. Now do not necessarily send the complete application is sufficient initial presentation to the investment committee would say, yes, the project interesting, let's move on, - says Andrey Vvedensky. - To each of the partners could pre-calculate where his place in the market, what steps do you need him to do specifically, on what terms he can count, and only after that is more detailed elaboration - the business plan, model and condition soinvestitsy. " Now the first reaction of the investment committee are available on average within a month. Optimizes the process for larger projects: investments are divided into tranches. "All at once demanding money for the construction of the plant, but the first thing to say, after analyzing the project: that's 1-2 million rubles, three months bring a prototype and put it on the table" - says Andrey Vvedensky. The next step - 3-5 million rubles to them to make the first sale, and to provide at least the initial cash flow. "We do not require profitability in the initial stage, and require business: profitability investors will help ensure that when they see the prospects of the project. This translational work - this is a system solution in the venture business is built on all the tranches "- he continues. Costly affair. Twenty projects for the year in seed funds - not bad, but insufficient result, Alexander Galitsky: "There is a simple math: the success to five years in one place, as the Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley, while 50 were represented by funds. So far, Russia has not only fully loaded MER funds, several private players, including Almaz Capital, timid attempts of foreigners - and everything - he explains. - The average seeding fund makes trades for the year 10-15, the venture - 2-5 transactions, the fund later stage - 2-3 deals per year, and, accordingly, if we consider that invests one of 30-50 companies that submitted application, one can easily calculate the number of projects needed in order to provide work for those same 50 funds. " For the year received MER 130 crop applications, and should be 500-600 - even if you do not compare with the Russian system of the world's technology centers, which offer thousands of projects, I'm sure Vvedensky. The problem - the lack of infrastructure projects have difficulties with things that have no direct relation to the development of ideas - with accounting, legal support and patent examination, the structuring of transactions. Moreover, a number of planting projects scale is so small that they are quite profitable for this purpose start their own units. "In the West it is usually involved in the funds universities, but we have such funds and almost no", - says Vadim Kulikov. There is not enough and proper practice of organizing and structuring the crop projects, and even the experience gained by the DRF for the year is very difficult to extend to other partners. "We give our partners the organizational, legal developments, but do not want to impose terms of the deal and say," We only work well and not the other way "- says Vvedensky. - In the market there is a unit of specialists who can structure the venture transaction, and given the fact that the legislation is weakly adapted to the specific business venture, each transaction is unique. " Partially solve this problem are called by the end of 2010 two cluster Fund - Biopharmaceutical and Infrastructure ("RVC BioFond" and "InfraFond RVC", respectively). Support for venture infrastructure can be a wealthy business, said Andrew Vvedensky, so it decided to establish a MER negrantovy tool to support such services, and service functions, namely investment - when the company is willing to invest and share risk with private players to work with such companies. And, in his opinion, a number of services will be needed not only projects but also by the venture capital funds. Particularly problematic situation in the market biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry - there is practically no services that meet international standards, and they lack not only the venture, but has already established companies, continues Vvedensky. "In Russia there is no full-fledged companies engaged in clinical research, as a result of many existing ideas, despite the obvious promise, yet do not apply, - says Anton Moskalenko of" Maxwell Biotech. " - Is also important that the ideas were patent and legally clean: the emergence of such an infrastructure will reduce the risks of not only biotechnology, but also any other funds, not only on seed stage. " Risks and have new funds themselves. "We are now actively negotiating with international players, so they came to these funds not only capital but also with competence, - says Andrey Vvedensky. - And even more important is their customer base, because the creation of such services without an initial set of orders - these are additional risks, but that we lag behind the leading countries in this sector, it is an absolute fact. " Infrastructure funds - it's not really venture project: although the risks do exist, but there is no need to create new technologies, and demand is also forecast, according to Vadim Kulikov. RMC is designed not only to work with venture projects with a view to profit, but to create tools for the development of the market, and it must first deal with this state, I'm sure Alexander Galich. Transactions of biotechnological infrastructure fund has not yet been completed, the results of contacts and planned based on these figures RVC promises to announce in the second half of 2011.