Slush revokes $1M pitch prize from Russian founders after industry outcry - TechCrunch

This station was published (November 21, 2022 @ 08:37:07) and was updated with caller accusation astatine (November 21, 2022 @ 11:54:08) San Francisco time.

Immigram — a endowment migration level founded by 2 Russian passport holders — has been removed from a $1 cardinal startup contention that it won past week astatine the precocious illustration Slush league successful Helsinki, aft a swirl of contention enveloped the determination owed to Russia’s penetration of Ukraine.

Amid allegations of the startup helping Russians determination astatine a clip erstwhile the state is being sanctioned, and others claiming that the league and judges were code deaf to grant the apical prize to a Russian-founded startup, TechCrunch has recovered that the startup appears to person capitalist ties to Russia.

The fallout from the full concern has been substantial, with posts criticizing the grant going viral, but besides the startup’s founders — who person said they bash not enactment Russia’s aggression — facing decease threats and more.

This morning, Immigram announced that it was “opting out” of the competition, and moments later, the Slush enactment said connected Twitter that it was revoking the award.

TechCrunch understands that the VCs that were brought unneurotic to money the $1 cardinal concern prize — Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, NEA and Northzone — had advised Slush to revoke the prize lone aft doing their ain owed diligence into Immigram, station the competition. More connected that later.

Slush meantime said it had revoked Immigram’s triumph “in airy of caller information”. It besides requested that the investors propulsion their investment, and it apologised to attendees “for this oversight”.

“We should person reviewed each participants operations much intimately earlier entering into the competition,” it added.

Over the play it besides issued this statement: “Slush stands with Ukraine and condemns the Russian penetration of Ukraine. For this reason, we bash not spouse with Russian companies oregon funds oregon judge startup oregon capitalist applications from companies based successful Russia.”

Immigram was launched successful 2019 by 2 expat Russian founders — 1 of them, CEO Anastasia Mirolyubova, has been surviving successful the UK since 2016, portion the other, Mikhail Sharonov, is based successful Georgia — and it is registered arsenic a UK ineligible entity based retired of London, England. Its main offering is simply a platform-based attack to the analyzable process of navigating “Global Talent” visa programs crossed 10 countries searching for high-tech talent, particularly post-COVID.

Specifically, it is advertised to radical successful countries similar Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, India and the U.S. to use for the U.K. Global Talent visa. The institution says that applicants from Eastern Europe marque up a number of its users.

However, possibly due to the fact that of its laminitis DNA, Russia was among the aboriginal countries wherever Immigram archetypal launched its operations, successful bid to assistance Russians with obtaining said visas.

In 2019 Immigram whitethorn good person been a comparatively uncontroversial startup and mightiness good person attracted small attention.

But successful April this twelvemonth — hardly a period aft the brutal penetration of Ukraine by Russia — it raised $500,000 successful a backing round led by Xploration Capital, arsenic good arsenic from  Mikita Mikado, the Belorussian СEO of PandaDoc.

UPDATE: Mikado has since posted connected LinkedIn in defence of Immigram, saying: “Services similar Immigram tin assistance to neglect dictatorships successful the agelong term. Technology makes a immense quality successful the modern world, including warfare. We don’t privation Putin’s authorities to person entree to AI engineers and scientists Immigram helps to determination to UK. We privation them to lend to democracies.”

Other investors included Joint Journey Ventures, angel investors and Hatchery, a startup incubator tally by University College London.

A casual perceiver whitethorn good person commented astatine the clip that Immigram’s maturation mightiness person been connected to the tendency by galore Russians who disagreed with the warfare to permission the country, oregon who wanted to debar its consequences. It is of people intolerable to accidental either way, since each idiosyncratic is different.

But it’s worthy thing that Mikado has besides made anti-Putin statements and had to fly Belarus, which is led by Kremlin state Alexander Lukashenko.

It was successful this discourse — and aft a dense vetting process by Slush (four stages, much than 1,000 startup applicants) — that Immigram came to transportation unrecorded astatine Slush past week.

But erstwhile it emerged soon aft that the co-founders were inactive some Russian passport holders, societal media — peculiarly connected LinkedIn — lit up astir the decision, focusing connected this facet of the transportation competition’s decision.

Among them, an extensive post by Yaroslav Krempovych of Movens Capital successful Warsaw, criticizing the determination to manus the grant to Immigram, went viral implicit the weekend.

“While immoderate startup founders combat and dice connected the frontlines for the lives of their families and loved ones and their country’s freedom, others question to assistance Russians to flight the repercussions of their acts and inactions,” helium posted.

Several different commentators, including TechUkraine, assembled yet much captious posts of the decision.

To adhd substance to the fire, Immigram had pitched during the contention against a Ukrainian startup, Zeely, a level aimed astatine emerging markets allowing consumers to motorboat web sites easy from their phone. Zeely took 2nd spot successful the pitch-off competition.

Regardless of whether Immigram, based retired of the UK but tally by Russian passport holders, straight violates and circumstantial sanctions, observers person called the determination by Slush to see the startup successful the contention “tone-deaf”, coming the aforesaid week arsenic Russia was shelling Ukrainian cities.

Furthermore, the VCs progressive person travel nether disapproval for not engaging successful greater owed diligence during the transportation competition, and failing to “read the room” regarding the inheritance of the startups involved.

The fallout from the incidental has been considerable.

Mirolyubova said successful a LinkedIn post connected Sunday that portion she cannot straight related to the fearfulness Ukrainians are facing, “I genuinely stress and basal with Ukraine. We bash not enactment the aggression and the penetration and ne'er have.”

But she besides added that she has “started getting decease threats and wishes, for rightfully winning a startup contention with a incorrect colour of the passport.”

“My co-founder’s Mikhail Sharonov’s household comes from Odessa, Ukraine, my begetter is from Tatarstan. But some of america hap to person a reddish [Russian] passport. The precise quality of Immigram is to assistance talents (from tiny Indian towns to Nigerian villages) with immoderate passport to unrecorded and enactment successful developed countries without racism, xenophobia and hate… I wanted my concern to beryllium judged, not my nationality,” she added.

Immigram has antecedently said (in April) that it was offering a work to talented Ukrainian IT specialists to determination to the U.K. via the Global Talent route, but that it had since waived the payments for Ukrainian clients aft the warfare broke out, and it helped bargain an ambulance car for the Ukrainian frontline.

After winning the competition, Immigram said it would donate $100,000 to Ukrainian NGOs assisting the warfare effort.

And yet, the institution has had to look questions astir its operational strategy. While Immigram does not person a ineligible entity successful Russia, nor does it basal immoderate employees there, AIN.Capital, a CEE tech quality site, published images from a Russian occupation committee appearing to amusement Immigram hiring for roles successful Moscow.

Mirolyubova has countered this, saying that the institution simply uses these Russian occupation sites to advertise for roles extracurricular Russia specified arsenic successful Georgia, Armenia oregon the UK, wherever it tin past besides connection its Talent Visa platform. Furthermore, she says Russian occupation boards bash not person a “relocate” class arsenic this would trigger investigations by the authorities.

All that said, TechCrunch has uncovered an capitalist successful Immigram who maintains adjacent links to Russia.

Sergey Dashkov, caput of Joint Journey Ventures, a Cyprus-based early-stage capitalist successful Immigram, precocious listed his determination connected LinkedIn arsenic “Moscow.” This was changed lone aft TechCrunch contacted him for comment.

Speaking to TechCrunch, helium said: “I support respective addresses successful galore countries. Now I’m successful Limassol, Cyprus. I unrecorded betwixt Russia, UAE, Singapore, Cyprus. Mainly unrecorded successful Internet [sic.].”

On May 31 this twelvemonth helium besides appeared in an article, by Russian-American writer Daria Solovieva, headlined “How this Moscow-based VC capitalist navigates uncertainty successful times of war.”

The nonfiction elaborate however Dashkov had invested successful 112 companies since 2016 and helium did “not differentiate betwixt Russian, Belorussian oregon Ukrainian founders. “[I] inactive person “many” Ukrainian companies,” helium said. He added that “times are not good, but they nutrient beardown people” and “what doesn’t termination you makes you stronger,” successful a wide notation to the struggle successful Ukraine.

Although Joint Journey Ventures said it had suspended caller investments successful aboriginal March, Dashkov was quoted arsenic saying helium is inactive monitoring the “best deals that look connected his radar.”

He added: “I’m definite successful five-six years’ time, we volition spot Russian companies that go unicorns, contempt each the complications and barriers now.”

Speaking to TechCrunch, Immigram laminitis Anastasia Mirolyubova said Immigram had taken Joint Journey’s concern respective months earlier the warfare started:

“We took this concern [from Joint Journey Ventures] earlier the penetration started, successful December 2021. The money invests successful a fig of large European and U.S. companies. We were not antecedently alert until contiguous that Sergey lived nor spent immoderate clip successful Russia.”

Ukrainian startup Zeely declined to remark connected the jury’s determination but said it stands “in an explicit anti-Russian position. A terrible, bloody warfare continues successful our country, wherever our citizens are dying and we bash not tolerate neutrality. We indispensable each beryllium unanimous. We are against practice with Russia successful immoderate of its manifestations,” it said successful a statement.

Commenting, Borys Musielak, founding spouse astatine SMOK, a salient Polish VC, said connected LinkedIn that the incidental was a “PR fuckup… awarding a large European startup grant to a Russian squad Immigram that helps Russians flight Russia arsenic a effect of Russia invading Ukraine… portion Russia was shelling the state astatine the aforesaid time. You should person known amended Slush, Accel, Northzone, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA). I’d emotion to perceive an mentation from the GPs connected the representation wherefore you thought this was a bully idea.”

“Recognizing a Russian startup, which is presently hiring successful Moscow, astatine specified a superior event, with the applause of apical VCs… it’s not lone a PR changeable successful the foot, but astir of all, a precise existent changeable successful the backmost of the Ukrainians,” helium added.

While truthful acold determination has been nary authoritative remark from Northzone, Lightspeed, General Catalyst, Accel and NEA, TechCrunch spoke connected inheritance to sources adjacent to the decision-making process among the VC judges.

A root adjacent to the judging sheet told TechCrunch that the judges’ determination not to spell up with the concern had thing to bash with the founders having Russian passports, but due to the fact that excessively galore of its customers, extracurricular of the different countries it serves, were from Russia.

“The concern is indirectly getting much traction due to the fact that of the war, not due to the fact that Immigram did thing wrong, but due to the fact that astir of the applicants connected their level are presently Russian,” they told TechCrunch, and this hadn’t been antecedently wide to the judges.

Once Slush and investors learned this, they said, Slush made the last decision:

“This is simply a effect of trying to marque a unrecorded concern decision.There’s a crushed firms bash owed diligence aft they motion a word sheet. Typically investments aren’t nationalist for weeks/months aft erstwhile each diligence is done.”

They said the VC judges don’t blasted Slush oregon Immigram for the concern but successful airy of the accusation astir the bulk of it customers, “it felt inappropriate to invest.”

They added that this was “a existent borderline lawsuit – a clump of radical trying to bash the close happening including the founders.. precise unfortunate.” They said the full concern was “much much nuanced and well-intentioned” than the comments connected societal media person suggested.

UPDATE: In a further twist to events — which simply services to item the complexity of the erstwhile relationships betwixt Russians and Ukrainians anterior to the warfare — it’s emerged that Zeely CEO Dmitry Samoylyuk (who has a Ukrainian spelling to his sanction connected LinkedIn but a Russian name, (Dmitry Dimbrovsky) as listed connected Facebook) antecedently had an online selling bureau “Dmitry Dimbrovsky” which, aaccording to the wayback instrumentality had clients successful Russia. For example, an Russian electronics marketplace “Eldorado”, arsenic good arsenic an bureau successful Moscow, astatine 1 point. But determination is nary proposition that Samoylyuk has immoderate existent beingness in, oregon concern dealings with, Russia.