Skolkovo Innovation Centre to house Russian-Chinese business incubator JV

The Skolkovo Innovation Centre on the outskirts of Moscow is set to house a joint Russian-Chinese business incubator, robotics centre and venture fund following a deal struck between the Skolkovo Foundation and China’s Cybernaut Investment Group in Beijing today. 
Under the terms of  the agreement, the JV will instigate an acceleration programme intended to help around 15 companies based in Skolkovo’s  1,500m² R&D Centre  that are involved in innovative IT, robotics, space, energy-efficiency technologies and new material projects to make inroads into the Chinese market. A separate $200m  Russian-Chinese venture fund will invest in  companies specialising in space and telecommunication technologies. 
The Skolkovo Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in September 2010 by the Russian government and was tasked with establishing  the Skolkovo Innovation Center, which is now home to  more than 1,00 high-tech startups, the Skolkovo Technopark and the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (Skoltech).
The Cybernaut Investment Group focuses on consumer and service sectors and invests in early and growth stage companies with strong consolidation potential. It focusses on the financial services, education, health care, consumer services, high technology, and advanced manufacturing sectors.