Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko welcomed participants of the Sber500 international accelerator demo day and, together with Sberbank President and Chairman of the Management Board Herman Gref, assessed the startup exhibition.
The event took place as part of the Moscow Startup Summit at SberCity. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin addressed the participants. The event also included a dialogue between Herman Gref and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, titled "Human-Centered Technologies: What Determines the Future of Megacities?"
During the opening of the demo day, Dmitry Chernyshenko thanked Sber as "a corporation that has built a true conveyor belt for startups—from the first idea to the global market." He also cited statistics: according to VTsIOM, almost half of Russians surveyed—44%—want to live in a smart city, and 14% believe they already live in one.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that 30 startups will be showcased to participants, while at the beginning of the selection funnel, there were approximately 2,000 teams from more than 40 countries.
"Almost half of the teams represented at the Sber500 accelerator demo day are DeepTech startups, with deep scientific roots. The government is currently the largest investor in science. In 2025, 665 billion rubles have been allocated for research and development. Scientists are conducting this research with federal funding through assignments, grants, and subsidies. This means that somewhere in Russia, there's a high probability that research on your topic is already underway. And you, as entrepreneurs, can convert these scientific findings and turn them into truly compelling businesses. You can apply for grants from foundations yourself, or you can use the "Science and Innovation" domain platform, which is built on the GosTech platform. You can also create a technical request on the platform and contact specific contractors who will conduct specific research on your topic," said Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The Deputy Prime Minister discussed the capabilities of the Industrial Development Fund. The Fund provides preferential loans of up to 2 billion rubles at 3-5% per annum, depending on the project, and offers the opportunity to move from pilot projects to industrial scale and integrate into the country's industrial chains.
He also paid special attention to student opportunities. "There's a project called the University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform, where every student can receive a million rubles for their startup. We selected 2,500 such startups this year," the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Dmitry Chernyshenko added that 85% of Sber500 projects use artificial intelligence.
"This means that artificial intelligence has already become a fully accepted norm in the modern world. Thanks to Herman Oskarovich Gref, the Artificial Intelligence Alliance was created. Fourteen countries have joined. It's a serious international platform. Together with the SAPFIR agency and leading scientists with an h-index of 15 or higher, we held foresight sessions. There, we identified 10 areas of fundamental research where we expect breakthroughs in the coming years. We will present the results at Sber's traditional AI Journey conference, which will be held this November. These trends will allow you to keep your finger on the pulse and anticipate future markets," the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
The event also selected 13 leading research centers in the field of artificial intelligence.
Five of the 30 startups presented on stage were selected through GigaChat's Sber500 track. Dmitry Chernyshenko explained how, at his request, GigaChat categorized these projects according to Russia's national development goals. It turned out that digitalization, human development and health, economics, and technological leadership were fully covered by the startups, while ecology and a comfortable environment were not.
In conclusion, the Deputy Prime Minister urged people not to focus solely on fast-moving markets, as it is important to fulfill the mission of leaving behind a country they can be proud of, one in which our children and grandchildren will live.
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