• What a difference a year makes
  • When Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev declared at Startup Village that the Skolkovo Innovation Center is developing as planned, he was speaking as someone who’d had the benefit of several helicopter...
Highlights
  • Startup Village 2015 draws to a close
  • Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev awards ceremonial diploma to first Skoltech graduates
  • Mayor Sobyanin cuts ribbon on Nobel Street
  • GRAVITON wins the Startup Village pitch competition 

19:38
Time to say goodbye...
This brings to a close the Live Updates coverage of Startup Village 2015. Thanks for your company, and see you next year!
Next year, as it happens, Startup Village will be held at the rather fetching Skolkovo Technopark.
DO SVIDANIA! 
19:35
GRAVITON WINS 2015 STARTUP VILLAGE PITCH COMPETITION!!!
And it wasn't even close. This promising home security startup impressed the judges enough to win the 3 million top prize by a country mile. 
Read all about it here. 
17:55
Meanwhile, down by the lake...
Skolkovo president Victor Vekselberg and Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich hold a briefing for foreign journalists. Looking forward to reading the headlines in the coming days...
 
16:49
The veteran inventor
Martyn Nunuparov is on stage with his innovation, the City sensor subnetwork. With the network you can control a smart home remotely. 
We profiled Nunuparov a while back. Here's the story, 'keeping the heart beating on the frontiers of innovation.' 
16:18
Do svidania  Nicole! See you next year
15:45
A word about the judges
The jury at the Startup Village pitch competition is independent. They are not employed by Skolkovo, nor have they been for at least the last two years. They have no relatives at Skolkovo and have all signed the corresponding documents testifying to that. There are seven judges, including Natalya Kaspersky, the CEO of InfoWatch and the former chair of Kaspersky Lab.
15:23
The Pitch Session Finals! 
It's the sharp end of the Startup Village 2015 pitch competition, and we're already five startups through the 26-startup final. 
Here's Yury Vasilev trying to convince Skolkovo judges his environmentally friendly asphalt is worthy of the 3 million ruble prize.
Watch LIVE in English or Russian here.
 
15:09
THAT Skoltech selfie 
When you're Dmitry Medvedev, every selfie is a rugby scrum. Beware the pointy hats. Photo courtesy of Skoltech twitter feed here. 
14:27
Medvedev congratulates Skoltech's first graduates
"I hope with every year the number of graduates gets bigger and bigger, and that those graduates who stand before us will enjoy great demand in the market," says the prime minister.
Story here.
14:17
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin opens Nobel Street
The ribbon-cutting ceremony is attended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who landed in his helicopter moments earlier. More here. 
 
13:33
Dmitry Medvedev's helicopter has landed at Skolkovo - perhaps!
The prime minister has arrived at Startup Village. At least, we think that's his helicopter. He's due here soon, anyway. He'll be meeting Skoltech students, taking part in a street-opening ceremony and hosting a key meeting at the Hypercube. 
13:25
Skoltech at Startup Village
Skoltech Space Center researchers are showcasing cutting edge work on data, sensors, robotics and satellite imagery.

Ed Crawley, Skoltech president: "We at the space center are working on using space resources much more efficiently. There are dozens and dozens of satellites orbiting the earth, taking pictures and recording information. Sadly a large part of the data is never used. It's a bit like you people walking around Startup Village and snapping photos with your smartphones. You don't use all of the pictures.. Our mission is to change this situation to the better, and turn space exploration into a more efficient business."

13:08
The (mighty) eagle has landed!
Peter Vesterbacka is sharing his insight into the world of gaming in a special round-table at the IT B2B pavilion. 
Is there such a thing as too much gaming?
"I wouldn't be too worried if they (kids) play a lot of games, it's much better than watching TV," says the Angry Birds creator. "I have two kids and I let them play games. They play sport too, so everything in moderation."
 
12:48
Introducing Luis Sanz!
Great to have Luis Sanz with us at Startup Villge 2015. Luis is the Director General of IASP, the International Association of Science Parks and a good friend of Skolkovo. 
Last year in Qatar, Skolkovo won hosting rights to the 2016 IASP World Conference, which is referred to as the 'tech park Olympics.'
Read more about that victory, and what it means for Skolkovo, here. The winning bid video from Skolkovo is below.
12:30
The Flying Finn
Mika Hakkinen is with us at Startup Village this year. Here he is meeting Skolkovo's key executives last night.
In the background is Skolkovo's lead guitarist Renat Batyrov. In his spare time, Renat runs the Skolkovo Technopark.
Mika devotes his post-F1 time to angel investment. He is a good friend of the 'Bulldozer,' AKA Pekka Viljakainen, advisor to Skolkovo president Victor Vekselberg.  
 
11:50
Eye in the sky gets $4 million boost to go global
Here are more details on one of yesterday's key deals, giving Skolkovo resident Ivideon $4 million to expand internationally. 
This is a seriously cool product, and one I use myself. Ivideon has a million subscribers for its cloud service, which allows you to watch live video from anywhere, using any hardware setup. Even if you have a crappy old webcam, you can set it up to beam images to your smartphone on the other side of the globe. Loads of other features too, and very minimal lag on the images. Recommended.
Impulse VC is the venture fund that is helping the company expand. 
11:19
Pitch session finalists
The votes are in, and the 350 startups who entered Startup Village pitch competition have been whittled down to 28. They competed in six categories, but for Wednesday afternoon's final, they will merge into a final batch of presentations. The top three get prizes of 3 million, 2 million and 1 million rubles, respectively. 
The final kicks off at 14:30 local time, with the winners due to be announced at 17:00.
10:46
Back to school
One of the most important yet underrated elements of Startup Village - and whose value is so difficult to measure in rubles and kopecks - is training sessions for young startups. 
Here, a Skolkovo panel of experts put the industry leaders of tomorrow through their paces in a series of pitches at the Skolkovo Library. 
This young innovator was asked to explain more clearly how exactly he intends to hit international markets, as he promised in his pitch.
10:26
The Internet of Things is changing sales models
That's the hypothesis that Microsoft's Alexander Lozhechkin is discussing right now during a round-table right now at the IT B2C pavilion. 
Companies used to sell complete software packages to clients, but the Internet of Things is a platform that allows firms to switch to more profitable product-licensing, Lozhechkin says.
10:10
$272 million worth of deals signed on day one of Startup Village
Organizers have just announced the total value of deals signed or announced on day one of Startup Village. 
Even with the Biocity deal accounting for most of that figure, it's impressive. 
More here. 
09:55
Personalized medicine. 
While we tot up the value of the deals signed on day one of Startup Village, Skolkovo's own Yuri Nikolsky, a leading authority on the fledgling research field of omics, is taking to the Open Stage to moderate a panel talk on personalized medicine. 

 
08:39
DAY TWO OF STARTUP VILLAGE IS HERE!
Good morning from the Skolkovo Innovation Center. Today promises to be hotter than yesterday, in almost every sense. 
On the agenda for today: 
- Another 18 (!) panel discussions across three stages;
- The finals of the pitch competition; 
- Countless round-tables;
- The visit of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Don't forget your shades, Dmitry Anatolevich! Here he is last year, rocking the Ray-bans. 
17:00
Day one winds down
Thank you for following us here at Skolkovo for day one of Startup Village 2015. It's been a corker. Tomorrow, we'll be welcoming Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the event, so check back for more updates.
I'll leave you with this Startup Village string quartet, which inexplicably broke into Elton John when I walked by...
 
16:36
Panasonic opens itsSkolkovo R&D Center at Startup Village
The Japanese electronics giant became a Skolkovo partner in December, and has brought all its facilities online in the space of six months.
Here's a pic, and here's the story. If you're at Startup Village, pop in and have a look. It's the second building along Nobel Street, on the second floor (or the first floor if you're from the West!)
 
15:35
Another deal done...this time to send this microsatellite platform into space
The R&D spinoff of Dauria Aerospace, Russia’s first private space firm, is to receive 60 million rubles from the investment arm of state corporation Vnesheconombank under a deal signed Tuesday at Startup Village.
Read about this here. 
15:24
Best #SUV2015 tweet yet?
Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich pays a visit to the Skolkovo Robotics Center pavilion, and comes face to face with R2D2.
Here's what Albert Yefimov and his team are up to at Startup Village. (Resurrecting Alan Turing is all.)
14:40
The Silk Road
The Asian theme continues on the Open Stage, where Skolkovo's senior vice president for innovations Vasily Belov hosts a session on 'Going Global Via the Silk Road'
He kicks off the session by asking Herbert Chen, COO of TusHoldings Co (pictured below) how China is going about shifting the paradigm from 'Made in China' to 'Created in China.'
Skolkovo cemented its ties to China last October with the signing of a deal on the creation of high-tech research parks in each other's countries. More on that here. 
Watch the discussion live here. 
14:31
Skolkovo, Alibaba and the AliExpress Challenge
Skolkovo and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba are teaming up to stimulate high-tech innovation with a new contest known as the AliExpress Challenge.
Alibaba's motto is "to make it easy to business anywhere." That's pretty much Skolkovo ethos right there. 
Read more on that here. 
14:11
Deal done: Skolkovo and Turku Science Park to create 200m euro Biocity
This is one of the biggest agreements to be signed at Startup Village 2015. The biomed research facility will be built in Russia and cover some 20,000 sq. m. More details here.

13:41
Troublemakers will be catapulted into the lake
In years past, Startup Village security would have refused entry to scallywags. This year they get the Angry Birds treatment.
As it happens, Peter Vesterbacka is rumored to be at Startup Village. If you're wondering where everyone is, this photo was taken at 7:30 this morning. Now it's barely visible due to the legions of selfie snappers.
 
13:24
You're Big in Japan? 
Over at the Patio Stage, the companies that do innovations best are doling out advice on how to, well, innovate. 
Japan is among the top-three innovation leaders of the world and has developed the most advanced manufacturing technology.
Here, Skolkovo VP Kirill Kaem asks Panasonic Russia VP Masato Nakamura, first from right, about the interactions between small innovative companies and big corporations.
His answer: "It's difficult to distinguish innovation from big business. We have an important philosophy at Panasonic - each employee is an individual entrepreneur - that is the core DNA of Panasonic."

 
13:16
Google workshop
At the workshop stage, the Internet giant is showcasing some of the key factors for startup innovation success, which Israel has come to learn very well. Here's Gennadiy Nissenbaum, export sector lead at Google's EU HQ. 
13:04
Progress check. Around the pavilions:
We were a little behind schedule, but now Startup Village is firing on all cylinders. As of this very moment we have 11 separate events taking place on three stages and eight pavilions. 
On the Open Stage, Pekka Soini, Aleksander Kuleshov, Helen Chung, Guo Hong and Ed Crawley are sharing their secrets on motivating scientists to go into business. 
Watch live here. 
12:29
Do Startups Need Big Business?
That's the question under discussion on the Open Stage, where Skolkovo vice president Igor Bogachev is hosting a lively session.
Oliver Heid, a Siemens expert in new technologies and concepts, notes: "If a product works in Russia, it probably works worldwide."
12:02
Welcome Ebba! Thanks for bringing the sunshine with you...
11:45
Victor Vekselberg is getting emotional!
If you were here, you would be too. Past editions of Startup Village have been good, but this is something else. I'll be posting some pictures to prove it soon.
After Arkady Dvorkovich officially raises the curtain on Startup Village 2015, the Skolkovo president takes a few moments to thank the thousands of visitors for attending. 
"You really are friends and colleagues of this ambitious project, which proves in this country you can really achieve a lot," he says. Read more here. 
11:27
STARTUP VILLAGE 2015 DECLARED OPEN!
Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich takes to the Open Stage to declare this third edition of Startup Village OPEN! He is joined on stage by Skolkovo president Victor Vekselberg, and vice president Alexander Chernov.
11:13
Pitch for your life
The preliminary pitch sessions are underway, with 350 startups battling it out in six categories to make tomorrow's finals. Prizes of 3 million, 2 million and 1 million rubles plus Skolkovo residency are on offer to the winners. 
11:05
Our digital future: 
Mike Butcher of TechCruch fame is on the Open Stage leading a panel discussion entitled "Defining the Future of the Digital World."
He wraps it up with "building the future with venture capitalism means there will be failures." Way to keep it positive, Mike!
10:40
Startup Village revs into gear
Here's a quick story on Startup Village getting up and running. The Office Technopark is already filling up with guests. Music pumping out of pavilions and marquees, pitch sessions underway. More here...
10:20
US AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT: America continues to support Skolkovo
America's envoy to Moscow has given Washington's uniequivocal backing to the Skolkovo project, saying difficult political times will not imperil US support.
"I assure you of our continuing interest in this important, international venture."
Read more here.   
08:57
WHAT IS STARTUP VILLAGE?
It’s Eastern Europe’s biggest startup event and Russia’s largest business event by participant numbers (yes, bigger than SPIEF). Startup Village has three main components: The Startup Bazaar – an exhibition of resident companies who showcase their prototypes and innovations; the Conference, consisting of panel sessions and roundtables with industry leaders; and the pitch competition, where 350 companies face off in a battle to determine the top hi-tech startup in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. 
08:36
And the weather...?
And the weather seems to be holding out! All week the forecasts have been iffy, and we've been holding our breath. We have contingency plans should the heavens open. One of the best things about Startup Village is that it's held outdoors - gives it that music festival vibe. Here's what it looks like now, here's hoping it stays this way.  
08:26
GOOD MORNING!

Welcome to the Startup Village 2015 Live Updates page. I'll be bringing you the latest news from in and around the Skolkovo Innovation Center over the next two days. Tweet to #SUV2015.