RDIF and Sirius set up a venture fund to support young scientists

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Talent and Success Educational Foundation have created a joint venture fund Sirius Innovations, the capital of which amounts to 1 billion rubles. This was announced by CEO of RDIF Kirill Dmitriev on November 28 on the margins of the IV Congress of Young Scientists.

He said that the fund is actively cooperating with Sirius, within the framework of the Board of Trustees of the educational center is currently discussing the strategy for the next 10 years. Dmitriev noted the importance of attracting Russia's talented young people to projects, adding that Sirius has already been successful in attracting leading scientists.

He added that knowledge that can be applied in startups will be discussed with young scientists. Dmitriev cited as an example of such a future project the development of the Sputnik vaccine, which, he said, was in demand in all key global countries.

"What is important here is that Sirius and I have already created a joint venture fund together with the Russian Venture Company, which is under RDIF. The capital of this fund is 1 billion rubles, 500 million from Sirius and 500 million from the Russian venture capital company," the RDIF head pointed out.

According to Dmitriev, the venture fund will invest in startups that are associated with graduates of Sirius programs. The RDIF CEO also pointed out that an important component of startups is not only receiving support from the government, but also the goal of being demanded by large corporations and having the goal of becoming world leaders in their field.

"In our portfolio, more than 30% are exactly technology companies. The Russian Venture Company is actively investing. And it is very important for us, too, to involve more and more young scientists in research, as well as in the application of this research in startups and the practical plane," he added.

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What developments and ideas were presented on the first day of the IV Congress of Young Scientists

The day before, more than 7,000 participants arrived at the IV Congress of Young Scientists, which is held on the federal territory of Sirius near Sochi, and presented their scientific projects. Young scientists at the congress are asking questions, the answers to which will be very important in the future, and their developments have the potential for scientific breakthroughs. Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center (KIRC), spoke at the congress. Mikhail Kovalchuk, speaking at the Congress, noted that the most important strategic task of Russia today is the development of the Northern Sea Route.

The IV Congress of Young Scientists will last until November 29.