Open international startup competition EASTBOUND, organized by VEB Ventures together with the Skolkovo Foundation and foreign partners, will be held for the fourth time on October 21-23, 2019 at the VIII International Forum "Open Innovations".

The goal of the contest is to support Russian companies that offer technological solutions, including IT, IoT, AI, VR, aimed at creating a comfortable urban environment, in entering international markets.

The fourth EASTBOUND series will consist of three pitch sessions. Startups will present the projects to large investors and businessmen from Korea, Japan and Singapore, who will assess the attractiveness of their ideas for the foreign market. Pitch sessions will be held at the VEB Ventures booth as part of Open Innovations.

"This year, the jury of EASTBOUND will include representatives of large corporations from three countries, where the state policy in the field of innovation is aimed at investing in small and medium-sized businesses, attracting breakthrough projects from abroad, and creating optimal conditions for their growth. I am sure that participation in the contest will allow the best Russian projects to win the attention of the global venture capital market players," says Oleg Teplov, General Director of VEB Ventures.

"The venture capital market in Asia has almost equaled the volume of the American market. Investments in high-tech industries bring local startups to the international level and make Korea, Japan and Singapore the leaders of the world economy. The successful development of projects is also helped by the high activity in this market of public funds. These are strong investors and reliable partners," says Yuri Saprykin, Skolkovo Foundation Vice-President for Regional and International Development.

The key factor of selection in EASTBOUND is the readiness of the company to enter the world market and create international partnerships. Only six projects will qualify for the final.

In order to participate in the pitch session, companies have to fill in the participant registration form by October 7, 2019, uploading a brief presentation in English in the executive summary format. The questionnaire is published on the EAST BOUND website.

VEB Ventures (formerly VEB Innovations) is a company of VEB.ru Group established to support high-tech projects through direct transactions and venture fund management. Among the priorities of VEB Ventures are financing of promising companies with attraction of own funds, private and state funds, as well as assistance to Russian startups in entering international markets. The company offers projects not only venture investments, but also operational management support tools and access to financial products of VEB Group companies. This makes it possible to create support schemes for Russian innovative companies, taking into account their individual needs, including those to facilitate their entry into international markets.

On June 6, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, VEB.ru's investment subsidiary VEB.ru, VEB Innovations, announced its rebranding and new strategy. Now the company is called VEB Ventures, and according to the new strategy will focus on investments in companies through direct transactions, as well as through joint venture funds with corporations and other market players. According to the new strategy, by 2024 its portfolio will be estimated at 34.8 billion rubles.