Skolkovo is exhibiting its top resident companies at the Open Innovations Forum in Moscow. Here are some of their stories from the Skolkovo stand, which is the de facto centerpiece of the forum.
Marshalling the stand was vice president for communications Alexander Chernov, who managed visits from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Skolkovo Foundation president Viktor Vekselberg, among others.
The Skolkovo stand was in the center of the forum arena at the Technopolis in southeast Moscow. Photo: sk.ru
Optogard Nanotech
Optogard Nanotech is one of Skolkovo’s most promising startups. It uses patented laser plasma technology to produce ultra-hard coatings and signed a major deal at the forum with China’s Shandong Trustpipe Industries to reinforce the company’s pipelines.
“Not a year has gone by when Open Innovations hasn’t produced contacts and deals for us, and this year the scale of the event is bigger than ever. So we’re excited,” Optogard CEO Pavel Smirnov told sk.ru.
“The stand is the most impressive at the forum and we have excellent exposure where we are,” he added.
Under the $41 million contract signed with Shandong, Optogard Nanotech will apply its technology to leave internal pipeline surfaces as hard as the armor that protects battlefield APCs, guarding against blockages caused by the buildup of impurities by providing an ultra-smooth and friction-free coating.
Radio Gigabit
This tech startup came second in last year’s Startup Village contest with its innovations in the field of radio-relay equipment. It hopes to tap a $1 billion market for transmission systems for cellular technology in Russia.
Radio Gigabit’s Vladimir Ssorin said he expects a wealth of interest in the technology.
“It’s a very welcoming environment here at Open Innovations and the Skolkovo stand is clearly the centerpiece,” he said.
“It’s only our third conference but it’s far and away the most impressive,” Ssorin added.
Transbiotech
This St. Petersburg-based startup is looking to equip every ambulance in the country with a new type of external blood circulation system that keeps vital organs supplied with oxygen during life-threatening situations.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called in upon the Transbiotech stand, where lead researcher Oleg Reznik filled him in on the details.
“It is vital to equip all ambulances with our micropump,” Reznik told sk.ru. “They do currently exist, but they are far too large and expensive. Ours saves time and money, and as well as being a more effective pump to maintain life for as long as possible, it also keeps organs in better shape for donation should efforts to save the patient fail,” he said.
Aerob
Aerob is another Skolkovo flagship project, reflected in the attention of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the first day of the forum
The company produces artificial intelligence drones for civilian use, and boasted one of the more spectacular displays at the stand with a futuristic pilotless Aerob 4D aircraft suspended overhead.
Aerob CEO Andrei Mamontov hailed Open Innovations as an "excellent forum for contacts with representatives of industry, potential partners and investors."
Of the meeting with Medvedev, he noted: "When we can put our development into production, begin manufacturing, we need the requisite level of contacts with the state organs."
"Open Innovations give us the extra possibility to interact with them," Mamontov said.
Atlant
Atlant is a Russian acronym for ‘Aerostatic Flying Transportation Device of a New Type.’
The company is the R&D spinoff of Russia’s only airship constructor Avgur, and with a recent grant from the Skolkovo Foundation is attempting to resurrect cargo and passenger airships.
Denis Bekker, an assistant to CEO Georgy Yuzhbashyants, told sk.ru that the company stand had enjoyed a good deal of interest from investors and schoolchildren alike, featuring a model blimp in a glass semi-sphere.
“Our main task is to attract private investment, but also to generate interest in our project,” Bekker said. “The forum is really doing its job, and the Skolkovo stand has given us the ideal platform,” he added.
Atlant recently secured a grant from the Skolkovo Foundation to continue with its R&D research.
Kosmosnimki
This is a promising forest fire detection system that uses orbital satellites to trigger the alarm – its name translates as “space imaging.”
Kosmosnimki recently teamed up with another Skolkovo resident forum participant, Sputnix Ltd., to launch a dummy satellite into space as part of its trial program.
“My impressions of the forum aren’t complete yet, but at this stage I had hoped to have had a little more interest,” acknowledged project manager and CEO George Potapov.
Potapov was tucked away in a corner of the stand and was forced to change tactics to whip up interest. Instead of waiting for passing traffic, he left his station and sought to connect with forum participants in various areas of the Technolpolis.
Like many other countries, Russia is regularly ravaged by forest fires, which threaten rural villages and even claim lives each year.
Skolkovo has several fire-detection residents that employ a range of methods to spot the blazes.