30 March 2012 - A delegation from the Skolkovo Foundation led by Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg visited the Silicon Valley.
The visit demonstrated the United States' interest in developing cooperation with Russia in innovation.
Key events of the visit by the Skolkovo Foundation delegation to the Silicon Valley:
"I am confident that our trip to Silicon Valley and the first meeting of the working group on innovation as part of the Bilateral Russian-American Presidential Commission opens an entirely new chapter in the history of Russian-American economic relations," Vekselberg said.
The signing of the Memorandum of Russian-American cooperation in the field of innovation.
From March 26-27 in San Jose, California, a meeting of the Russian-American working group on innovation was held. As a result of the meeting, a Memorandum on Russian-American cooperation in the field of innovation was signed.
The document states that Moscow and Washington "show a common interest in conducting joint research activities and the joint development and commercialization of new technologies."
The memorandum was signed by representatives of the U.S. State Department, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Skolkovo Foundation.
On the American side, the document was signed by Lorraine Hariton, a U.S. State Department official authorized to handle commercial and business relationships. On the Russian side, the memorandum was signed by deputy economic development minister Oleg Fomichev and chief executive officer of the Skolkovo Foundation Steven Geiger.
Deputy minister of economic development Oleg Fomichev: "Today we discussed three basic topics: the development of clusters, including those in the regions, legal aspects of the innovation sector, including the improvement of the legal framework in Russia for the protection of intellectual property, and issues in commercializing research projects."
"So today, we have identified key milestones in the planning of future work," Fomichev added.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats: "Yes, we have some foreign policy differences with Russia, but both countries intend to strengthen economic cooperation. A perfect example of us coming together is the first meeting of the working group on innovation in Palo Alto."
"The Skolkovo Project is a unique opportunity to attract the brilliant minds of Russian science and engineering to cooperate with U.S. business. The U.S. administration supports this project as it supported Russia's accession to the WTO, with full confidence that the process will benefit both countries," Hormats said.
The day before, he spoke at the meeting of a congressional committee to discuss the possibility of lifting the Jackson-Vanik amendment. "I personally called on Congress to undo this amendment. It would be in the interests of not only Russia but also the United States, in the interest of mutual trade and business. Moreover, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this measure has lost all meaning," Hormats said.
Agreement on strategies for research and development between the Skolkovo Foundation and Cisco
Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco, and Viktor Vekselberg, president of the Skolkovo Foundation, sign a billion-dollar multiyear agreement..
The strategic document signed with Cisco fleshed out plans for joint research and development. In particular, it provides for an increase in the corporation’s investment in the Russian project. A significant portion of the $1 billion sum that Cisco intends to invest in Russian innovation will be allocated for this purpose. The corporation plans to set up an R & D center in Skolkovo. "Of course, cooperation with foreign partners such as Cisco will make a significant contribution to the innovation sector of the Russian economy" said Skolkovo president Viktor Vekselberg. According to him, it will create 170 new jobs for highly qualified staff, fully consistent with the spirit and letter of the agreement, which aims to stimulate innovation in Russia. "In this project, as in many others, Skolkovo acts as a state guarantor of the contract and the ‘supplier’ of the young and talented scientists to our business partners," Vekselberg said.
"The physical presence at Skolkovo will be an important step towards putting the phased plan into practice, a plan we adopted in June 2010 during the Russian president’s visit to San Jose. We are not only creating jobs for talented professionals in the Russian innovation economy, but building the foundation for the further growth of Cisco to create new sustainable enterprises. Skolkovo is fast becoming an international center for innovation, and we are pleased to be playing a leading role in its development and future success," said Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of video and collaboration and curator of the Skolkovo project at Cisco.
Agreement on cooperation between the Skolkovo Foundation and venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners
The Skolkovo Foundation signed an agreement with one of the largest and oldest venture capital firms in the Silicon Valley, Bessemer Venture Partners. According to the agreement, over the next two years BVP has committed to invest $20 million in technology projects developed by companies that are residents of Skolkovo. In return for its venture capital investments, BVP will have access to a database of technology projects at Skolkovo and the opportunity to invest in them, as well as the right to apply to submit applications to the Foundation to grant resident status to companies in its portfolio.
The agreement was signed by the director of investments of the Skolkovo Foundation, Alexander Lupachev, and BVP CEO Ed Colloton at the Global Technology Symposium, held in Menlo Park, California.
"By signing this document, we formalize the already established relationship with our partner, Bessemer Venture Partners," Skolkovo Foundation president Viktor Vekselberg said. "From now on, the company will take pride in its place on the list of our investors, which already includes more than 30 Russian and foreign companies and foundations. Our cooperation is a contribution to the development of intellectual capital and research being poured into the creation of high-tech industries."
"We are happy to collaborate with the Skolkovo Foundation to successfully promote global innovation in the heart of the Russian community of scientists and entrepreneurs," BVP CEO Ed Colloton said. "Bessemer Venture is one of the companies that have created a truly global platform, allowing us to find and fund promising start-ups, no matter where they are. We are happy to use our experience together with Skolkovo to create companies of the highest level."