Global investment funds rush to Runet

OpenView Venture Partners and ABRT Venture Fund launched their new investment program "Partnership for Russia". The goal of the joint effort is to identify and invest in the best software & information technology companies in Russia and East-Central Europe. This wasn't their first common initiative here - OpenView and ABRT joint investment in Russian software business totals over $30m. Joint successes include, among others, Aelita Software (sold to Quest Software in 2004 for $115 million), Acronis, and Quintura. "If you are an entrepreneur with a young, fast growing software company in Russia, we would love to talk to you," commented Andrei Baronov of ABRT. "If you want to learn more about how Ratmir [Timashev, ABRT partner] and I have grown Aelita Software with the help of the OpenView team to an exit of $115 million, give us a call or send us an email!" Earlier this month another venturer launched its program in Russia - Cisco announced its plans to expand on Russian technology market. To launch the initiative, the company has acquired a share in a leading Russian e-commerce site, Ozon.