<article>Russian IT form LANIT has led a $2.5-million investment in CardsMobile, while Beijing and Moscow are collaborating to design, develop and produce medical robots.</article>

Russian IT form LANIT has led a $2.5-million investment in CardsMobile, while Beijing and Moscow are collaborating to design, develop and produce medical robots.
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">LANIT invests in CardsMobile</h3>
Russian IT firm <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://lanit.ru/en/" target="_blank">LANIT</a> has invested $2.5 million in <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://cardsmobile.ru/" target="_blank">CardsMobile</a>, a developer of contact-less payment solutions, for a 28.6 per cent stake in the company.
Reported by Russian business daily Vedomosti, the transaction sees CardMobile reach a post-money valuation of $8.7 million.
CardsMobile has developed a platform for NFC paymentsthat enables users to issue virtual cards including bank cards and travel tickets.
To date, CardsMobile has issued 1,7 million virtual cards, of which 5 per cent are bank cards. The investment comes as NFC technology matures in Russia. <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.ewdn.com/2012/03/30/contactless-payments-take-their-first-steps-in-russia/" target="_blank">Introduced in 2012</a>, an NFC-powered bank card issuance is 90 per cent cheaper than issuing a plastic bank card. The proportion of smartphones integrating NFC capability in Russia is estimated to reach 35 per cent in 2017, with contact-less transaction market touching $759 million.
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Russia-China pact for medical robots</h3>
The <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/russian-direct-investment-fund" target="_blank">Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)</a> has entered into a partnership with several Russian and Chinese industry players to develop and manufacture medical robots. This was announced at the <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.forumspb.com" target="_blank">St. Petersburg International Economic Forum</a>.
A centre for medical robotics will be jointly developed by the Russian international technology centre <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.sk.ru" target="_blank">Skolkovo</a>, Chinese technology park Xixian Fengdong, a Chinese technopark, and <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.pantherhealthcare.com/en" target="_blank">Panther Healthcare</a>, a Chinese firm specialising in the R&amp;D, manufacture, and sale of surgical devices and instruments.
According to <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/viktor-vekselberg/" target="_blank">Victor Vekselberg</a>, President of the Skolkovo Foundation, up to $2.33 million will be invested in this project. Vekselberg said, “Robotic surgery will become one of the main areas of growth in medicine’s hi-tech sector in the next decade.&#8221;
Also Read: <a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/iran-in-talks-with-chinese-and-russian-banks-on-finance-hub-plan-44223/">Iran in talks with Chinese, Russian banks to create finance hub in Qeshm Island</a>
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/russia-digest-3-44195/">Russia Digest: Yandex-Facebook partnership, Siberian university launch joint fund, Unomy secures funding</a>
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/russia-digest-2-43818/">Russia Dealbook: Sberbank-IIDF launch fintech accelerator, VisionLabs develops project</a>

Russia Digest: LANIT puts $2.5m in CardMobile; RIDF in pact for medical robots

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief

Russia Digest: LANIT puts $2.5m in CardMobile; RIDF in pact for medical robots

Start your deal-making journey now!

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief