On 1–2 October, Moscow will host the Moscow Startup Summit, an international gathering dedicated to technology entrepreneurship and innovation. The event is being organised by the Government of Moscow in partnership with Sber.
Deputy Mayor of Moscow Natalia Sergunina explained that the summit will unite innovators, investors, major corporations, government bodies, and research organisations from Russia as well as from BRICS and SCO member countries.
“International investment funds and startups from 25 countries have already confirmed participation, including Belarus, China, India, Serbia, Brazil, Turkey, and the UAE. Experts will discuss ways to support talented developers, successful practices of implementing and scaling modern solutions, and promising areas for future cooperation,” noted Natalia Sergunina.
The summit agenda includes keynote speeches, workshops, panel discussions, and interactive sessions. More than 150 leading figures from across the industry will share their insights and expertise.
An accompanying exhibition will also present innovative startups, including participants from the Moscow Innovation Cluster.
Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Executive Board, added:
“The summit will connect Moscow’s innovation ecosystem with Sber’s AI expertise and infrastructure to support technological entrepreneurship and the creative economy. The program is designed to deliver tangible results: startups will secure pilot projects and investments; corporations and investors will find promising projects; government representatives will reach new international agreements. A strong focus will also be placed on regional innovation, alongside Sber500 international seed accelerator’s Demo Day and roadshows by youth startup teams. We expect more than 4,000 participants from Russia, BRICS, and SCO countries.”
The summit will take place in SberCity, the smart city hub. All sessions will be streamed live on the event’s website.
Innovations award
As part of the conference, the Startup Summit Awards will be presented for the first time to recognize contributions to innovation development.
“We received over 1,700 applications from 79 Russian regions. The most popular category is ‘Startups,’ which gathered about 1,000 entries. Moscow leads with 550 applicants, including around 270 participants from the Moscow Innovation Cluster,” said Natalia Sergunina.
St. Petersburg ranked second in applications, followed by Moscow Region and Tatarstan.
Entries will be reviewed by a jury consisting of business leaders, well-known entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, and representatives of academic institutions.
“Artificial intelligence is one of today’s key technologies: every third startup that applied presented a case in the ‘Best AI Solution’ category. Symbolically, determining finalists in this category will rely on our GigaChat neural model. This is a real example of how AI strengthens expert work and helps identify projects that can shape the future of Russia’s tech market,” said Alexander Vedyakhin.
Projects will be evaluated based on innovation, quality and scale of partnerships, sustainable revenue growth, contribution to improving and promoting the technological ecosystem, and the creation of new growth opportunities for participants.
The award is established by the Government of Moscow and Sber. Its goal is to highlight best practices, encourage large companies and investors to support emerging entrepreneurs, and enhance the economic potential of Russian regions.
The award ceremony will be held on October 2.