Moscow, 29 August 2019 — The Far East High Technology Fund (created in August 2018 by the Far East Development Fund, Rusnano and RVC) will invest RUB 190 mln in MultiKubik — a developer of state-of-the-art film-strip projectors under Cinemood brand. The transaction provides for the Fund’s contribution in the company’s authorised capital, no information concerning the size of the interest has been disclosed.  

MultiKubik is a hi-tech company specialising in the development and manufacture of mobile mini projectors that are safe for kids’ health and provide the options of online and offline access to recommended family video content. The company’s core products are as follows: mini projector, online delivery platform for entertainment and educational content, and smart accessories. The key consumers of the company’s products and services are families with children aged from 2 to 10. This is an international company that has sales offices in Russia and the US and is represented in the markets of the CIS and Canada.

The Company will use the funds to develop its business in the Far East and implement the strategy announced earlier that provides for expanding production, boosting sales in Russia and the US, and designing an updated modification of the product.

The company will open divisions in Vladivostok to promote sales in the Far Eastern macro-region and prepare for the entry to the Asia-Pacific Region markets. Pursuant to its development strategy, MultiKubik is planning to launch sales of Cinemood devices and engines in China and India in 2020-2021. 

By the end of the year, the company will recruit the first employees for its Far Eastern office. The company’s division based in Vladivostok will be provided with an R&D centre responsible for upgrading the features of the content platform, designing new projector models and continuing the research and development effort in VR/AR technology. In addition, the division will be in charge of the aftersales quality check of mini projectors and aftersales support, including by opening a service centre and a call centre. 

By opening the Far Eastern division, the company will be able to optimise the product development and service costs due to the tax preferences offered by the region: the company is examining the possibility of taking part in the concessionary programmes offered to the residents of ASEZs and of the Free Port of Vladivostok. This will make it possible to reduce the future release costs of new products and expand to the Asian markets.

“The company is developing an uncommon business model at the intersection of hardware, software and video content delivery engine. The product is based on slide films — an entertainment from our childhood. In the meantime, Cinemood is an ultra-modern projector with a subscription for family video content, and finally, a project with a strong international potential: the company is already earning a third of its revenue in the US market. This is a good example of the team’s creative approach to the development of a product that has proven its worth in the Russian market and is ready for an energetic expansion overseas,” said Ruslan Sarkisov, CEO of the Far East High Technology Fund. 

“As a native of Vladivostok who has spent over 20 years in the Far East, I am perfectly aware of the region’s innovation and business potential: the Far East already accounts for 5% of the company’s sales.  Involvement of the Fund that focuses on the Far East provides the company with new opportunities in Asia where the sales are currently prepared to be launched in 2020-2021. In addition, we will launch a new investment-raising round shortly in order to maintain rapid growth prioritised by the company and its shareholders,” said Pavel Zhuravlev, Co-Founder of MultiKubik, Director of the Investment Office. 

Previously in 2018, the company already attracted RUB 263 mln from an investor pool headed by RBF Ventures that invested RUB 140 mln in MultiKubik. Another RUB 60 mln was contributed by the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) and RUB 63 mln was added by a number of business angels, Pavel Zhuravlev reminded.

MultiKubik is a company established in Russia in 2014 represented by CINEMOOD brand in the international market. The company’s mission is to offer a good and useful method to spend free time together with a child to contemporary parents by creating the products that will serve as a safe alternative to tablets and smartphones and will help bring up children.

The team is creating a family platform for educational and entertainment content distributable via mobile movie theatres. The list of partners connected to the platform is as follows: Disney, ivi, MegaFon, MULT, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Yandex. The company started from the idea to revive the family tradition of watching slide films in the evening. The team restores, dubs and translates slide films into English and adapts contemporary animated cartoons to make new slide films.