Venture capital firms and startups in the West are trying to figure out what to do with their Russian investors.
- In recent weeks, global businesses have rushed to dump Russian holdings, and are ceasing operations in the region. But for venture firms that have accepted funds from Russian investors, de-linking from the country is a thornier imperative. Rubles may be part of a much larger fund, and in some cases, may already have been committed to startups.
- And because so many family offices of Russia’s wealthy are based offshore, it’s not immediately obvious what cash came from an oligarch. Many VCs aren’t required to disclose who their investors are, so it’s hard to know which investors and startups are awash in Russian money.
- Aside from handing out cash to venture firms, Russian investors last year also poured $9 billion directly into startups across 232 deals, the vast majority of them taking place outside of Russia, according to data collected by research firm PitchBook Data. That total is triple the amount Russian investors spent in 2020.
“My answer is simple: If an investor becomes toxic, we will immediately isolate them from the other pool of investors.”
Read more via Bloomberg
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