VRTech raises $5 million to fund virtual reality startups in Russia and Asian countries

Two figures of the Russian digital industry — Georgiy Tushinsky, founder of Digital October and of several controversial music content projects, and Igor Luts, founder of BBDO Moscow, co-founder of The Untitled fund and a former Yandex marketing executive — have teamed up to launch a venture fund dedicated to virtual reality projects, according to RBC.

The common investment fund, dubbed ‘VRTech,’ will amount to over 300 million rubles (a little less than $5 million at the current exchange rate). The initiative may look modest in comparison with some foreign analogs — as exemplified by HTC’s recent $100 million VR fund — but Tushinsky says that it will attract additional funds depending on the size and number of projects.

The fund will be seeking projects in Russia, the USA, Europe and Asia. In 2016, the founders plan to invest in three to five start-ups – 10 to 30 million rubles in each of them ($155,000-$470,000 at the current exchange rate).

VRTech will be selecting projects oriented on business efficiency improvement in various fields – including such traditional ones as oil extraction, and entertainment technologies like sporting broadcasts and interactive excursions.

Using virtual-reality technologies, hence eliminating costs of creating real products, a business can scale up its profit by 30%, believes Tushinsky.

This post first appeared on East-West Digital News.