Twelve Startups to Launch Pilots with Magnit

In Magnit’s Digital Office in Skolkovo, the judges have selected the finalists of the MGNTech Accelerator — the first project of this kind for the retailer. During the Demo Day, the Foundation’s specialists and Company executives have picked for testing 10 innovative projects that proposed products and technologies with the best potential economic impact. In addition, two startups will continue to partner with the retailer outside of the accelerator. By the end of the year, Magnit plans to have invested 50 million rubles into piloting the solutions proposed by startups.

Krasnodar, Russia (September 14, 2020): The MGNTech Accelerator received 777 applications across 13 business areas from Russian and foreign startups hailing from 15 different countries. From this pool, over 20 projects were selected for the semi-finals and presented their solutions directly to Magnit’s top management and Skolkovo executives.

The judging panel for the Demo Day included Florian Jansen, Magnit’s Deputy CEO and Executive Director, Konstantin Parshin, Vice-President and Executive Director of the Information Technology Cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation, as well as experts from the Foundation and members of the retailer’s Management Board. The Demo day brought together startups from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Chelyabinsk, with solutions covering a broad range of topics: predictive analytics of demand, in-house production, anti-bacterial treatment for products and surfaces, development of omnichannel sales, automation of document flow, as well as inventory counts, hiring, and maintenance.

To make the decision, business customers first studied the solutions beforehand, and then listened to live 10-minute pitches from the semi-finalists, during which the latter showcased their projects and talked about competitive advantages and potential economic impact for Magnit.

The selected startups will begin piloting their technologies in Magnit before the end of the year. The winners will have access to all necessary resources and expertise on the Company’s side, as well as mentorship and guidance from the Foundation and the retailer. If required, participants may fine-tune their products together with representatives from Magnit and Skolkovo. The retailer is expecting to gain a minimum total economic impact of 1 billion rubles in 2021-2022 from scaling innovations that succeed during the pilot stage.

Ten projects became participants of the MGNTech Accelerator, including residents of Skolkovo:

1. EVA PRO—a solution for assessing the condition of truck wheels and increasing the efficiency of vehicle operation;

2. PredTech—a multifunctional toolset for increasing performance of in-house production;

3. Napoleon IT—an AI and computer vision-driven technology for recognizing goods based on facing, QR codes, and barcodes;

4. Natural beeswax food packaging intended to reduce waste and preserve the environment;

5. Med.me—a platform for exchanging medical information and facilitating communication between customers and the Company;

6. Useid.pro—a social media hypertargeting service;

7. BestPlace—a geoanalytics platform utilizing consumer data for segmenting stores and managing assortment depending on the customer's profile;

8. Doczilla—a platform for flawless preparation of operational documentation;

9. Timebook—a solution for automated scheduling of personnel shifts, biometric time tracking, payroll calculation, and outsourced personnel management;

10. Bio Z Laboratory—a solution for increasing freshness and shelf life of products using active packaging.

Two more startups—residents of the Skolkovo Foundation—will be piloted outside the accelerator. The first one is iVoice—a project aimed at optimizing the warehouse inventory counting process using speech-based technologies. The second is IDDE [Institute for Development of Digital Economy]—a comprehensive platform for uberization by both internal services and outsourcing companies.

“For our Company, we have selected projects with the highest chance of commercial success within Magnit’s perimeter. All these projects are fully in line with the priority objectives of our digital transformation: we want to utilize innovations to improve operational procedures, develop our IT infrastructure, launch new products and omnichannel services to suit the changing needs of our customers, and overall, provide them with a convenient ecosystem,”—said Florian Jansen, Magnit’s Executive Director and Deputy CEO.

“As early as the application review stage, we saw a lot of relevant and mature projects worthy of the highest marks. So it was difficult to choose semifinalists, especially since our residents also participated in the accelerator. For our part, we will support the finalists: they have the entire infrastructure of the Skolkovo Innovation Center at their disposal. As for those who have not been chosen, we will help finalize their projects to participate in Magnit and Skolkovo’s competition next year,”—commented Konstantin Parshin, Vice-President and Executive Director of the Information Technology Cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation.