Rosnano picks up stakes in a robot maker, a cloud operator, and a supercapacitor plant

Rosnano has picked up stakes in four IT companies at once after the closure of a large 5 billion ruble high-tech fund that the state corporation had previously invested in. Experts value the stakes at 150–250 million rubles and say their liquidity is practically zero.

Which assets did the state corporation get

Rosnano was founded as a state corporation in 2007 to develop Russia's nanotechnology industry and was later reorganized into a joint-stock company. Over a decade and a half, it has changed its business model. Instead of investing directly in manufacturing projects, it now works through a network of venture and sector-specific funds, co-investing alongside private management companies. One of those funds, the 5 billion ruble high-tech fund, has been liquidated, and its stakes in portfolio companies automatically moved onto Rosnano's balance sheet.

• The liquidated fund managed 5 billion rubles in assets
• Experts value the stakes Rosnano received at 150–250 million rubles
• The portfolio includes stakes in a robot maker, a cloud telecom operator, and a supercapacitor plant
• Experts describe the assets' liquidity as practically zero

Why would a supercapacitor plant stabilize the internet

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices. Unlike conventional batteries, they can deliver high current almost instantly and withstand tens of thousands of charge-discharge cycles. In practice, they often serve as backup power for telecom and networking equipment: during a brief power outage, a supercapacitor instantly takes over the load and keeps the network node from rebooting. That is what the phrase "stabilizing the internet" refers to. It is not about the traffic itself, but about uninterrupted power for network infrastructure.

Why it matters for the market

Industrial robotics and cloud infrastructure remain among Russia's priority areas for import substitution. Since 2022, dependence on Western equipment vendors and cloud services has become a strategic risk for the country. Stakes in a robot maker and a cloud operator fit neatly into that agenda for Rosnano's portfolio, even if the deal itself is technical rather than strategic.

How Rosnano explains the deal

The state corporation describes the stakes as a technical reallocation of assets, not a new investment strategy. Formally, Rosnano did not buy these stakes. They moved onto its balance sheet automatically after the liquidation of the fund, which it had put money into before the fund closed. Many state funds follow the same logic: once the management vehicle shuts down, unsold stakes in portfolio companies simply pass to the parent organization.

What it means

The story shows the flip side of state venture investment in high tech. When a fund closes after years of operation, its assets get spread across the parent's portfolio with questionable liquidity. That includes infrastructure such as backup power for the Russian internet and import-substituting robotics.