An investment fund for dual-use projects has been established in Russia

On the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, PSB and the Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies (CBST) signed a memorandum on the establishment of an investment fund for dual-use projects that have proven their effectiveness. The document was signed by Peter Fradkov, Chairman of the PSB, and Vladimir Yakushev, Secretary of the General Council of United Russia and head of the Central Bank's Supervisory Board.

The creation of the fund will help bring Russia to the world leaders in the high-tech sector for the needs of the defense industry and the production of dual-use products. PSB will act as the anchor investor of the fund with a target volume of 12 billion rubles. In addition, the fund will attract funds from a group of private Russian investors.

"The creation of an investment fund to support dual-use technologies is of great strategic importance in strengthening the country's technological sovereignty: this mechanism will allow combining public and private financing of special technology and create an environment of competition for ideas. The range of companies and projects for investment covers a wide range of areas — autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, robotics, motors, sensors and sensors, communications, etc. The creation of the fund will be one of the first steps of the PSB in the formation of an effective ecosystem for supporting projects in the field of special technology, the main purpose of which will be to facilitate the seamless transition of high—tech companies from the prototype development stage to the stage of large-scale production," said Peter Fradkov.

"Investments in dual—use projects are a contribution to the technological sovereignty of the country and the beginning of the path to creating a functioning ecosystem where innovations develop according to market logic, but based on the strategic interests of the state," said Vladimir Yakushev.

The fund's profitability is estimated at more than 30% per annum. The Fund plans to interact with corporations working on import substitution in the field of security, as well as invest in projects of DeepTech companies. The average transaction receipt for the allocation of investments will amount to 350 million rubles.