Page 18 - bne_Tech_03_2019

Investment
March 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 18
Russians spent $1.66bn on games in 2018
bne IntelliNews
Russians spent some $1.66bn on games in 2018, according to Newzoo. Ranking 11th in the research firm’s global ranking, Russia is ahead of Brazil and Mexico ($1.45bn and $1.58bn, respectively), but behind Italy and Spain ($2.17bn and $2.20bn), reports East-West Digital News (EWDN).
In the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan generated $207mn (44th place), ahead of Ukraine ($179mn, 46th), Belarus ($69mn, 67th), Uzbekistan ($54mn, 73rd), Lithuania ($52mn, 75th), Latvia ($33mn, 86th), Estonia ($24mn, 93rd) and Armenia ($24mn, 95th).
Georgia closes Newzoo’s Top 100 with just $20mn generated last year.
Newzoo’s estimates exclude hardware sales, tax, business-to-business services, and online gambling and betting revenues. They are “based on a combination of primary consumer research, transactional data, quarterly company reports, and census data.”
Russians spent the most on games in 2018 in CIS, over $1.66bn
Siberian startup iFarms secures $1mn to develop “vertical farms” across Russia and Europe
EWDN in Moscow
iFarm, a Novosibirsk, Siberia-based startup, has just secured $1mn in a round led by Gagarin Capital – the California-based VC firm founded by Nick Davidov and Mikhail Taver – with participation from individual Russian investors.
The details of the deal have not been disclosed, reports East-West Digital News.
"We created iFarm to grow natural vegetables, berries and greens in the city at any time of the