Yandex.Taxi, which operates in Israel under Yango brand, has launched an e-grocery delivery service similar to Yandex.Lavka. This is the first launch of the Russian express delivery of food products abroad. This was announced by a representative of Yandex.Lavka.

 
 The service managed by a local team in Tel Aviv is developed under Deli by Yango brand. The service includes a network of local mini-warehouses, where algorithms are used to optimize the picker’s route in the warehouse and select the optimal courier. Due to this, the products delivery time is 10-15 minutes. The automatic purchasing system of each warehouse is configured using artificial intelligence technologies.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/en/card/iandeks-lavka/" target="_blank">Yandex.Lavka</a> was launched in Moscow in 2019; currently the service includes more than 240 stores in five regions. Its revenue in the second quarter amounted to 2.3 billion rubles (equivalent to $30 million).

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-taksi-zapustil-analog-iandeks-lavki-v-izraile/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

RB.ru

Yandex.Taxi launched an analogue of Yandex.Lavka in Israel

Riki Group and Yandex have concluded a long-term contract for the use of cloud capacities of the Yandex.Cloud platform for the production of cartoons, Kommersant writes. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

 
 Riki Group notes that the company has significantly increased production: this year - 2.5-fold increase, up to 1000 minutes, and in 2021 the company plans to release 1200 minutes of new cartoons after transferring the production of several flagship projects and feature films to Yandex.Cloud.

 
 Yandex explains that using a public cloud, in contrast to a data center with a limited dedicated resource, allows to speed up content processing. Riki will be able to receive additional capacity upon request and for a fixed price.

 
 International animation producers are already systematically cooperating with cloud platforms. In 2019, the Walt Disney Studios agreed on a five-year partnership with Microsoft, which is developing the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, to accelerate production.

 
 In November last year Yandex agreed to produce the new season of “Smeshariki” and use the brand in its services and projects.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/gruppa-riki-budet-vypuskat-multfilmy-s-pomoshchiu-oblachnoi-platformy-iandeksa/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Kommersant

Riki Group will release cartoons using Yandex cloud platform

Rostelecom buys 51% in the Big Three company, which specializes in waste processing automation, for $16.6 billion. 

 
 The operator has already signed an agreement for the purchase of 1% and call options for 50% of the shares, which it is selling in the first half of 2021. The Big Three will become part of the Rostelecom group as a subsidiary, while retaining the team.

 
 The main product of the Big Three is the Waste Management platform. This solution will complement the waste processing technologies that Rostelecom already has.

 
 According to Igor Zimin, Vice president for Applied Projects of Rostelecom, the deal solves for the operator the strategic problem of creating another promising business cluster within the company, comparable in potential with such areas as information security and cloud services.

 
 Rostelecom is not the first telecom operator in the waste processing market. For example, MTS has a federal program for the digitalization of waste collection and disposal. The company has developed an ERP system that streamlines the work with municipal solid waste.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/rostelekom-pokupaet-kompaniiu-po-upravleniiu-pererabotkoi-otkhodov-bolshaia-troika/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Vedomosti

Rostelecom buys waste management company Big Three for $16.6 billion

Machine learning developers explain how LO-shot can revolutionize the field

ICT.Moscow

Longread: will LO-shot revolutionize machine learning?

Yandex plans to expand its taxi service in Finland, Prime reports with reference to Helsingin Sanomat.

 
 “We are considering expanding in Finland. If we find partners, we can launch the service in Turku or Tampere, or in both cities”, - says Aram Sargsyan, Regional General Manager for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) &amp; CIS at Yandex.Taxi.

 
 Yandex launched the taxi service in Finland in 2017 under the Yango brand and now operates in the capital area of the country. Over the past year, the number of orders has more than doubled.

 
 Yandex also launched a data center in 2015 in the Finnish city of Mäntsälä. Earlier it was reported that the second phase of the data center would be launched in November. The company planned to expand the total area of ​​the data center to 30 thousand square meters.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-planiruet-rasshirenie-servisa-taksi-v-finliandii/">Original (in Russian)</a>

PRIME

Yandex plans to expand taxi service in Finland

MTS announced the
sale of 100% of the system integrator NVision Group to its largest shareholder,
Sistema
PJSFC. The value of the deal is 401
million rubles. But the final value may be
adjusted depending on the revised financial results as of the date of deal closure, the operator stated in a press release.

 
 MTS sells NVision
Group’s systems integration assets, excluding those used in the development of the MTS’s product portfolio. MTS will also retain the FORIS BSS/OSS billing system that was earlier an asset of NVision Group.

 
 The mobile
operator acquired NVision Group from Sistema in 2015. Initially, it was
reported that the company would cost the operator up to 15 billion rubles.
However, MTS later indicated that it had paid 11.2 billion rubles for the asset.

 
 According to the
representative of MTS <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001788742697">Alexey Merkutov</a>, the
difference between the current valuation of
NVision Group and the amount that the operator paid for the company five years
ago is due to the fact that MTS retains a
billing system that allows invoicing for communication services to subscribers
and formed the basic value of the
asset in 2015. Merkutov noted that the main purpose of the NVision Group
acquisition had been the integration of its
own billing system into the MTS perimeter.

 
 According to
Merkutov, the sale of the remaining part of NVision Group is due to the fact
that the company’s assets “are not related to the
formation of a product portfolio, require additional investments and are not considered a priority in terms of implementing the company’s strategy”.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/mts-prodaet-envizhn-grup/">Original (in Russian)</a>

MTS sells 100% of the system integrator NVision Group to Sistema PJSFC

Mail.ru Group will
sell 100% of the MAPS.ME map service for 1.6 billion rubles. (equivalent to $20.5 million)

 
 The buyer is Daegu Limited, a member of the Parity.com group (a
global instant money transfer system that provides services to corporate
clients in insurance, tourism, e-commerce, finance, etc.). The
headquarters of the Parity.com Group is located in Switzerland.

 
 The sale of MAPS.ME is a part of Mail.ru Group’s strategy to focus on the development of core assets, where the service is
perceived as non-core.

 
 Mail.ru Group
acquired MAPS.ME in 2014 for $6.9 million. The service has surpassed the
mark of 140 million installs and 10 million monthly
active users. In 2019 MAPS.ME revenue amounted
to $2 million.

 
 Contacts:

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/eugene.lisovskiy">Eugene Lisovsky</a>, CEO of MAPS.ME

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/mail-ru-group-prodaet-maps-me-shveitsarskoi-parity-com/">Original (in Russian)</a>

TASS

Mail.ru Group sells MAPS.ME for $20.5 million

Megafon will acquire
33.8% in Digital Media Holding LLC (DMH), the parent company of the Start video
service. This information was reported by RBC
with reference to representatives of the parties.

 
 The operator is
ready to invest up to 5 billion rubles in service during the next three years. Start will use the raised
funds to increase the production of original content and
the development of new related business areas.

 
 The value of the deal was not disclosed. According to the
publication, it could amount to 2–2.7 billion rubles, since a source in the online movie theater market estimated
Start at
from 6 to 8 billion rubles.

 
 According to a representative of Megafon, the company sees great prospects in the online
cinemas market: “The creation of original content is a growth driver for the OTT
market in Russia”.

 
 According to the company’s own estimates, Start
has over 1 million paying users. According to TelecomDaily estimates, this
online cinema showed the most significant revenue growth in the first half of
the year - the figure increased by 362.9%
compared to the same period in 2019.

 
 Contacts:

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/julia.mindubaeva">Julia
Mindubaeva</a>, CEO of Start&nbsp;

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/megafon-stanet-sovladeltsem-onlain-kinoteatra-start/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Megafon will become a co-owner of the Start online cinema

VC.ru

Sberbank and R-Pharm will acquire 90% of shares in the Internet pharmacy Eapteka

Sberbank became interested in the smart housing and communal services
market. The bank received a minority stake (5%) in the “Smart Resident” project, which connects citizens and management
companies and allows to automatically collect data from meters
and pay bills.<a></a>

 
 The service was launched in 2016. According to Russian accounting standards, in 2019, the revenue of the company amounted to $198 thousand with a net profit of $116 thousand. In 2019 the company participated in the Sberbank accelerator
and 500 Startups.<a></a>

 
 The company’s solution allows to conduct online voting for residents, communicate with the management company,
order household
services, make payments and transfer data to the management company.<a></a>

 
 Telecommunications
operators - Rostelecom, VimpelCom, MTS and Megafon - are already working in the field of smart housing
and utilities. According to Megafon estimates, by 2022 this market in Russia will reach $15 million.<a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-poluchil-doliu-v-zhkkh-proekte-umnyi-zhitel/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a>

Sberbank received a stake in the “Smart Resident” housing and communal services project

Oleg Tinkov sold
his stake in the financial marketplace Sravni.ru to Baring Vostok and Goldman Sachs funds. The
amount of the transaction and the shares of shareholders were not disclosed.<a></a><a></a>

 
 Sravni.ru in
2009 was founded by Albert Popkov. In 2014, the
project attracted investments from Tinkoff Digital, the owners of which are
Tinkov and Goldman Sachs.<a></a><a></a>

 
 At that time the
sources of RBC in the market, which were familiar
with the details of the transaction, estimated the service at $5 million.
According to one of them, Tinkoff Digital acquired a controlling stake and an option to increase its stake in
the company.<a></a><a></a>

 
 Alexey Solovyov, Managing Director of A Partners investment company, noted in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vedomosti.ru/finance/articles/2020/10/18/843658-tinkov-sravniru">conversation</a> with
Vedomosti that there had been hardly
any “strong synergistic effects” between Tinkoff Digital and Sravni.ru, so the exit of the investor was unlikely to negatively affect the business.<a></a><a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/fondy-baring-vostok-i-goldman-sachs-uvelichili-doliu-v-sravni-ru/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a><a></a>

Baring Vostok and Goldman Sachs funds increase their stake in Sravni.ru

Yandex announced
the termination of negotiations on the possible purchase of 100% of the share
capital of Tinkoff. The parties failed to agree on the final terms of the deal,
the company stated in a press release. Immediately after the termination
was announced, TCS Group’s receipts on the Moscow Exchange <a target="_blank" href="https://quote.rbc.ru/news/article/5f8963609a7947a15b40a5b3">fell</a> by more than
6%. The price of securities fell to 1,754 rubles. Yandex shares fell by 3.7%.<a></a><a></a>

 
 According to a
representative of Tinkoff Bank, the company is not negotiating with anyone, and
“Tinkoff will develop independently”.<a></a>

 
 According to
Forbes, the key issue in the negotiations was Oleg Tinkov’s
participation in the management of the merged company.<a></a>

 
 The merger
negotiations between TCS Group and Yandex were <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/reaktsiia-otrasli-iandeks-pokupaet-tinkoff-bank/">announced</a> on September 22. The parties claimed that they had reached
a preliminary agreement.<a></a>

 
 On October 14, The
Bell <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/the-bell-tinkov-vedet-peregovory-s-mts-po-prodazhe-tinkoff-banka/">announced</a> that MTS was interested
in buying TCS Group.<a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-i-tinkoff-prekratili-peregovory-o-sdelke/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a>

Yandex

Yandex and Tinkoff terminated negotiations on the deal

Oleg Tinkov,&nbsp; founder of Tinkoff, who less than a
month ago confirmed a possible deal with Yandex, is negotiating with other
potential buyers. MTS or MTS Bank, members of AFK Sistema of Vladimir
Yevtushenkov, can “kill” the deal with the Internet company. According to the
newspaper, there are no final agreements yet.<a></a>

 
 Back in July 2020, an acquaintance of Yevtushenkov informed
the publication about the discussion of the deal. Negotiations continue, but
Yevtushenkov has not made a decision yet.<a></a>

 
 Oleg Tinkov estimated the likelihood of concluding a
deal with Yandex as 50/50 in a post on Instagram on October 4. In the post he
argued that Tinkoff Bank aims to achieve the target of 20 million active
clients and $1 billion in net profit [as of October, the bank has 11 million
customers, net profit for 2019 was 36.1 billion rubles, or approximately $470
million.<a></a>

 
 According to the sources of the publication,
negotiations between the businessman and Yandex are continuing and are going
slowly, the parties have not yet reached a final agreement.<a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/the-bell-tinkov-vedet-peregovory-s-mts-po-prodazhe-tinkoff-banka/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a>

The Bell

Oleg Tinkov is negotiating with MTS on the sale of Tinkoff Bank

Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board
of Sberbank, is stepping down from the board of directors of Yandex. RBC reports
about this with reference to the <a target="_blank" href="https://ir.yandex/node/13226/html">statement</a> of the Internet company.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 “The term of Mr. Gref expires in 2020, and he is not standing
for re-election”, - the document says.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 Shareholders will be able to re-elect Yandex co-founder
and CEO Arkady Volozh and the former CTO of the company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/mikhail.parakhin.9">Mikhail Parakhin</a> to the
board of directors.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 In July Sberbank reported that Herman Gref would
remain a member of Yandex’s board of directors until the shareholders’ meeting
which would elect a new board of directors; but in the future he did not expect
that he would participate in the governance board of the company.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 Sberbank and Yandex closed the deal on the division of
assets at the end of July and announced the end of partnerships on joint
projects - Yandex.Market and Yandex.Money.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 Herman Gref has joined Yandex’s board of directors in
May 2014.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/german-gref-pokinet-sovet-direktorov-iandeksa">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a><a></a><a></a>

Herman Gref, CEO of Sberbank, is stepping down from board of directors of Yandex

Mail.ru Group increased its share in Skillbox and invested in the Tetrika online school

The US-UK alliance on AI, the prospects for unmanned
vehicles in Russia, the focus on road safety and other topics - ICT.Moscow has collected
the most significant topics of September about artificial intelligence from
<a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai">@ict_moscow_ai</a> telegram feed in one digest.

<hr />
<h2>
 New Alliance in AI<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 At the end of September, the United States and the United
Kingdom <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-britain-ai/u-s-uk-sign-agreement-on-artificial-intelligence-idUKKCN26G33H">signed</a> a declaration on cooperation in artificial intelligence. According
to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.state.gov/declaration-of-the-united-states-of-america-and-the-united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland-on-cooperation-in-artificial-intelligence-research-and-development-a-shared-vision-for-driving/">declaration</a>, cooperation involves the joint development of the
economy and healthcare, improving the quality of life of citizens, joint
development and research in artificial intelligence and the creation of a technology ecosystem that will stimulate innovation
by integrating AI into the economy.

 
 ICT.Moscow <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/global-ai-experts-on-country-cooperation-in-artificial-intelligence/">asked</a> AI experts what could change for the industry, including the Russian
segment, after the declaration was signed. Executives and managers of AI companies have a rather positive view of the declaration: such alliances stimulate research
and promote development, which has a positive impact on the market. The authors of the
Russian Concept for the Regulation of AI and Robotics note that this is not the first document of such kind, and Russia should also
engage in similar cross-country partnerships.

 
 According to <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1112">preliminary data</a> of the poll in the telegram-feed, more than one third of the respondents believe
that the signing of the declaration between the United States and the
United Kingdom will not
affect the Russian IT industry. A quarter of the respondents think
there are barriers to
the sale of Russian developments in foreign markets, and even more than 15% believe that such an initiative can hinder
the development of the technology in general. Thus, industry representatives’
views of
the new initiative are
rather negative or
neutral.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 Read more expert opinions on the signing of the declaration on cooperation in the <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/global-ai-experts-on-country-cooperation-in-artificial-intelligence/">special material of ICT.Moscow</a>
 </div>
<h2>
 Route for autonomous vehicles was built<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 Autonomous vehicles were notable in the AI ​​landscape in September.
At the beginning of September Yandex and Sberbank (now called “Sber”) came into the
spotlight. With a
difference of several hours both companies announced that their
autonomous vehicles
departments would be spun off into separate companies - <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1020">Yandex Self-Driving Group (SDG</a>)
and <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1021">Sber Automotive
Technologies.</a>

 
 In September, the topic of unmanned control systems for rail
transport was actively discussed. Trains with artificial intelligence are already being <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1008">tested</a>
by Russian Railways, and the Ministry of Transport is <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1056">looking for</a> a developer
of a standard computer vision system (according to the plan, the technology
will already be
ready in December this year). The Moscow Department for Transport has <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1071">announced</a> plans to test
unmanned trams (Yandex will be responsible for the development of the
technology), and to<a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1103"> use</a> unmanned vehicles as parkons, which will automatically
monitor compliance with parking rules in Moscow.

 
 Autonomous
vehicles segment
is also
being developed in other types of transport. At the
end of the month, several ministries and relevant departments<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/an-experiment-on-the-operation-of-unmanned-vessels-on-rivers-and-seas-in-russia-will-start-in-october/"> approved</a> a draft decree of the Russian government on testing
autonomous sea vessels. And Gazprom Neft continues to introduce unmanned
technologies: the company’s unmanned helicopter was <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1073">tested</a> in the Arctic
for delivering cargo to oil fields.

<h2>
 Roads will become safer<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 Another piece of news about autonomous
vehicles is dedicated
to road safety control.
In the first half of September, the testing of an autonomous air monitoring system
for road safety was <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1040">launched</a>. Within six months, the drones will fly over the
M-4 Don highway under the control of the operator, and then the system
will operate
autonomously.

 
 Glonass-BDD <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1061">uses</a>&nbsp;computer vision technologies for other tasks,
in particular, for
digitizing Russian roads. By analyzing the data from the driving video recorders, the system evaluates various road
characteristics and makes recommendations for improving safety on specific road sections. So far, 3 thousand kilometers of Russian
roads have already been digitized.

<h2>
 Healthcare industry is confident in AI<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 Artificial intelligence in
the Russian healthcare is growing steadily. The number of
medical images analyzed in clinics in September <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1067">exceeded</a> 300 thousand. It took
less than two months, while the first 150 thousand images were processed within
three
months (from April to
July).

 
 Also, in early September, the first AI system for
analyzing medical images
from Celsus company was<a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1035"> included</a> in the register of domestic software. This
will allow the developer to implement the solution in government medical
institutions.

 
 Meanwhile, doctors are getting accustomed to using artificial intelligence in everyday
tasks. The STC group (Speech Technology Center), which analyzes the level of doctors’ trust in the system for filling out medical documents by
voice, claims
that there is
a significant <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1003">increase</a>
in this indicator. A month after the launch of the corresponding project in Moscow medical
institutions 40% of doctors
were skeptical about the technology, but after three months the
percentage of doctors who were skeptical decreased to 6%.

<h2>
 The AI ​landscape in Moscow is expanding<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 In addition to autonomous vehicles and healthcare, AI is being developed in other areas
in Moscow. For example,
in education: at the beginning of the month, students of the State University
of Management <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1019">tested</a> the Examus online exam control system, which analyzes the
student’s behavior in the video frame, can determine student absence, and is also able to
recognize voices of other people in the room.

 
 According to
the Moscow
Department for Transport
and Road Infrastructure, security cameras <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1007">installed</a> in metro cars will monitor the train load and transmit this
information to city mobile applications, so that users will
be able to choose less
crowded subway cars.

 
 Visa <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1014">launched</a> a voice payment service created on the Yandex.Dialogs platform in 32 restaurants and cafes of Moscow.
Its is intended to reduce contacts between visitors and waiters: using the
system, customers can contactlessly order food and drinks, pay for them and
leave a tip.

<h2>
 Watching the progress<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 In September, the stories about the success of Russian AI
developers and startup founders, including the stories
about the successful development abroad, appeared in the media. For example, MedTech-AI startup
Deep Longevity led by Russian developer and entrepreneur Alexander Zhavoronkov
<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/deep-longevity-medtech-ai-startup-was-acquired-by-hong-kong-investment-company-regent-pacific/">joined</a>&nbsp;the Hong Kong corporation Regent Pacific just a few weeks after the
launch, the deal amounted to $3.79 million, and Oleg Stavitsky’s Berlin-based startup Endel <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1085">raised</a> $5 million from
investors.

 
 Moscow-based NtechLab also <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/ntechlab-raised-over-13-million-for-the-development-of-its-product-line/">raised</a>&nbsp;$13 million&nbsp; from RDIF and
several foreign funds for future developments in the field of computer vision. The
developments
of the company are already
being used in the Moscow
city video surveillance system, and at the end of September it was
announced that they
would be <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1088">scaled</a> to 10 other cities, including Nizhny Novgorod.

 
 The government also
decided to support the
development of Russian AI startups. Mikhail Mishustin says that over the next four years, a
total of$92.2 million&nbsp; will be <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/the-ministry-for-digital-development-communications-and-mass-media-will-allocate-92-2-million-for-grants-for-it-projects/">allocated</a> to 1200 startups.

 
 In terms of
wins in the
competitions, it is important to mention the <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/itmo-university-scientists-won-an-international-competition-to-create-ai-for-diagnosing-inflammatory-disorders/">first place</a> of the team from ITMO
University in two stages of international competition organized by PMI Science.
The scientists
have developed the most efficient AI system for diagnosing inflammatory disorders.

 
 In September the results of two Russian contests - “Best Russian Social Projects” and “Innovator of Moscow”
- were summarized. The <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1072">winner</a>&nbsp;of the
first competition was Beorg Smart Vision platform, which is used for crowdsourcing in
corporations. Care Mentor AI, MONQ and SearchInform ProfileCenter were
<a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/1054">recognized</a> as the best innovators from Moscow in the field
of artificial intelligence.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/ai-digest-september20/">Original (in Russian)</a>

The US-UK alliance on AI, the prospects for unmanned vehicles in Russia, the focus on road safety  and other topics about AI in September

Digest about AI in Russia: top news in September

Yandex agrees to buy 100% of <a target="_blank" href="https://k50.ru/">K50</a> company from the current owners - venture capital fund AddVenture Capital and management. It is a platform for managing contextual advertising. The cost of the deal was not disclosed. K50 provides services for improving the effectiveness of contextual advertising.

The deal will enable K50 to scale its business using Yandex technologies and infrastructure. As a result of the deal, the IT company will help advertisers use digital channels more efficiently.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a></a><a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 Advertising is Yandex's main source of income. In the second quarter of 2020, the company's advertising revenue&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/vyruchka-iandeksa-za-vtoroi-kvartal-sostavila-41-4-mlrd-rub/">decreased</a> by 15% compared to the same period in 2019, to 24.8 billion rubles.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 All K50 employees will join Yandex, and the company's CEO <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/mary.opritova">Maria Opritova</a> will continue to lead the team.<a></a><a></a><a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-pokupaet-100-reklamnoi-platformy-k50/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a><a></a><a></a>

Yandex is purchasing 100% of the online advertisement automation company K50

Yandex presented new AI ​​services DataSphere and SpeechKit Pro during the <a target="_blank" href="https://cloud.yandex.ru/events/scale-2020/infrastructure">Yandex Scale</a> conference , which runs from September 23 to 25.&nbsp;

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://cloud.yandex.com/services/datasphere">DataSphere</a> is a service for the full development cycle in the field of machine learning. It includes a development environment and computing resources. The service uses serverless computing technology, which allows you to select the necessary configuration of computing resources for different types of tasks.

 
 Yandex SpeechKit Pro, according to the developers, is characterized by increased speech recognition accuracy and has more flexible settings for specific business tasks (for example, it allows you to change the voice and intonation of a voice robot).

 
 The recording of the presentation is available on <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/0zFmk8Ugz3k">YouTube</a> (1:28:05)

 
 The Yandex DataSphere cloud environment <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/636">was</a> first <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/636">introduced</a> on June 1 in Preview mode.

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 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/card/speechkit/">SpeechKit</a>&nbsp;card and other&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/cards/?tags=Yandex">Yandex</a>&nbsp;projects&nbsp;&nbsp;
 </div>
 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-predstavil-servisy-v-oblasti-mashinnogo-obucheniia-i-raspoznavaniia-rechi/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Yandex introduced services in the field of machine learning and speech recognition

According to Andrey Rusetsky, asset manager of BCS, the potential purchase by Yandex of all assets of TCS Group (the head structure of Tinkoff Bank, as well as insurance and investment companies under this brand) will increase the capitalisation of the merged corporation to $25 billion. The net profit of the merged company may amount to $1.1 billion in 2021 and $1.6 billion in 2022.

 
 The emergence of a new player will continue the era of ecosystems in the financial market, suggest experts interviewed by Izvestia. According to their expectations, the merged corporation will first of all become a competitor to Sberbank.

 
 For comparison, the capitalization of Sberbank next year is expected to reach $65 billion, according to Rusetsky from BCS. Sberbank President German Gref stated that the financial corporation's net profit in 2021 will be around $14.2 billion. At the same time, the second largest retail Russian bank, VTB, may receive about $1.6 billion profit, follows from the Bloomberg consensus forecast.

 
 The negotiations regarding the purchase of Tinkoff Bank by Yandex became known on Tuesday, September 22. The planned transaction amount is $5.48 billion, or $27.64 per share.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/bks-ekosistema-iandeksa-i-tinkoff-banka-mozhet-prinesti-1-1-mlrd-pribyli-v-2021-godu/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Izvestia

BCS: Yandex and Tinkoff Bank ecosystem can bring $1.1 billion in profit in 2021

Mango Telecom acquired 100% of Calltouch, an end-to-end analytics, call tracking and ad management service. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed, but, according to expert estimates, its value could have exceeded $13 million.

 
 Mango Telecom hopes that the deal will allow the company to strengthen its position in the cloud communications and marketing analytics market. Calltouch will keep the team and brand, the changes will affect only the board of directors, and the service will also get access to the call processing capabilities and the numbering capacity of Mango Telecom. Mango Telecom does not plan to transfer its own marketing technology services to Calltouch technologies and will develop them separately, the company explained to the publication. 

 
 Mango Telecom needs a deal with Calltouch to strengthen its' ecosystem, says Denis Kuskov, TelecomDaily CEO.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 
 Mango Telecom expects that the total revenue of the companies in 2021 will amount to&nbsp;$64 million.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/mango-telekom-kupila-servis-calltouch/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Mango Telecom bought Calltouch service

Sberbank announced it has completed its acquisition of 100% of shares in Zvuk and is creating a new audio streaming service SberZvuk based on it.<a></a><a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/milyichev">Mikhail Ilyichev</a>, who headed Zvuk between 2014 and 2017, will be re-appointed as the service’s new CEO, with the current CEO, Igor Mukhin, to remain a team member.<a></a><a></a>

 
 As a result of the deal, Zvuk will be integrated into the Sberbank ecosystem as much as possible. Sberbank and Zvuk have already integrated the audio streaming service into Sberbank ID, with SberPay payment service following suit shortly. <a></a><a></a>

 
 The audio streaming service shall unite 40 million songs from the world’s top copyright holders (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group), local and independent recording studios, and a collection of popular audiobooks and podcasts.<a></a><a></a>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-kupil-muzykalnyi-servis-zvuk/">Original (in Russian)</a><a></a><a></a>

Sberbank

Sberbank bought Zvuk audio streaming service

Yandex is negotiating the purchase of TCS Group, the parent structure of Tinkoff Bank. The deal may amount to about $5.48 billion, follows from a message <a target="_blank" href="https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/TCS/tcs-group-holding-plc-statement-regarding-media-speculation/14694897">published</a> on the London Stock Exchange.

 
 The exact parameters of the deal may be changed - Tinkoff notes that as a result of the negotiations Yandex may not put forward a final offer.

 
 &nbsp;According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/articles/2020/09/22/840828-yandeks-kupit-tinkoffbank-za-55-mlrd">Vedomosti</a>, Yandex is planning to pay using a combination of cash and shares. By the end of the second quarter of 2020, Yandex's free cash and cash equivalents were $3.45 billion.
A similar message about a possible deal was <a target="_blank" href="https://yandex.com/company/press_center/press_releases/2020/2020-09-22">posted</a>&nbsp;on the Yandex website. Against the background of messages about the deal, Yandex shares rose by 4%, the company's capitalization - $22.3 billion.&nbsp;&nbsp;

 
 Back in 2019, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Oleg Tinkov <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ICT_Moscow/2200">proposed</a>&nbsp;to the founder of Yandex, Arkady Volozh, to combine the businesses. Then the creator of Tinkoff Bank noted that there should be a bank inside any ecosystem.

 
 At the end of June, Yandex and Sberbank officially <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/yandex-announced-the-division-of-assets-with-sberbank/">announced</a> the division of joint assets - Yandex.Market and Yandex.Money. The deal was closed a month later.

 
 In August, it became known that in the spring of 2020 Yandex <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/yandex-applied-to-register-trademarks-in-banking-investment-and-insurance/">submitted</a> applications for registration of 17 trademarks - in the banking, investment and insurance sectors.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-predvaritelno-dogovorilsia-o-pokupke-tinkoff/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Yandex tentatively agrees to buy Tinkoff

Moscow Department of Transport and Yandex plan to test self-driving trams in Moscow. This was <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/DtRoad/4357">announced</a> by the head of the Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development Maxim Liksutov during a visit to the Yandex office on Saturday. He noted that such transport can be used almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is also reported that the use of unmanned vehicles should improve traffic safety on the roads, because 70% of accidents are caused by drivers.

 
 According to the press service of the self-driving vehicles division of Yandex, the aim is to develop a universal unmanned control system that can be applied to any transport platform - cars, trucks, buses or even delivery robots.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/deptrans-moskvy-i-iandeks-planiruiut-ispytanie-bespilotnykh-tramvaev-v-moskve/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Moscow Department of Transport

Moscow Department of Transport and Yandex plan to test self-driving trams in Moscow

Muzlab, a streaming audio
service for business (the company also has an office in Moscow), will buy
Market Music, which specializes in audio marketing and Digital Signage systems
(displaying information from electronic media in public places). The value of
the deal can be amounted to $4 million.

 
 When the deal is
completed, the Market Music team will join Muzlab. Muzlab will also get
technology and the entire line of Market Music products. In particular, Market
Player - Digital Signage software; background music services Market Music (for
corporate clients) and Hurdy Gurdy (for SME customers), as well as Mark
Traffic, a computer vision-based service used to count and profile store
visitors.

 
 Market Music was founded
in 2012 in Minsk, and in 2013 the company’s headquarters were established in
Moscow.

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 Contacts:&nbsp;
 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/vkhristenko">Victor Khristenko</a> and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/danilov011">Andrei Danilov</a>&nbsp;- Founders of Muzlab
 </div>
 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/strimingovyi-servis-dlia-biznesa-muzlab-kupit-razrabotchika-sistem-audiomarketinga-market-music/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Market in Brief