Venture capital fund raises $20m (250 words)

Published: 11/30/2000

Boeing is to invest $5m in a startup technology venture capital fund in Russia called Mint Capital. The fund will be managed by a number of investment managers from Brunswick, AIG and Delta Capital led by a former a member of the Baring Vostok venture capital fund, Alistair Stobie. The fund intends to raise between $20-30m and according to Stobie, and has already gathered almost $20m for investments in a broad range of Russian technologies, although not all directly involved in the aerospace industry. The emphasis being towards developments in areas such as broadband telecommunications. Funding for the venture, apart from Boeing, has come from German financial holding company Goldzack and a series of high net worth Swedish individuals with experience of investing in the Russian market and technology. According to Stobie the remit of Mint Capital is to look for Russian technology products that are potentially “globally applicable” and fund the process of bringing them to the global market. The new fund is due to start operation in January 2000 from offices in Moscow. For Boeing's venture capital arm, the investment mirrors a number of investments they have made worldwide in the startup technology area and follows the Boeing corporate commitment to development work in the aerospace industry in Russia over the last few years. The latter's involvment coming through relationships with titanium producer VSMPO, Ilyushin and Tupolev, the latter two companies providing Boeing with aircraft design services.

Article ID: 2221