Domestic Demand Discourse: Startup Village Identifies Key Corporate Procurement Trends

The techno festival was opened by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Skolkovo Foundation. He visited the Startup Bazaar exhibition and got acquainted with the advanced developments of Russian innovators. The exhibition featured more than 50 booths with technological projects from Moscow, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Novosibirsk Region, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, and other regions. One of the main international events was the «Global Demand Pulse» session, where Russian and international experts discussed the technologies that foreign customers need today. Key partners from Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, and China, as well as guests from India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other countries, shared their plans. «We saw in Skolkovo what we are most interested in, so we are signing an agreement with the Foundation to develop technological exchange between Russia and Vietnam, joint accelerators, and international pilots in the fields of artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and navigation,» said Do Tien Thinh, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Innovation Center

(NIC). This year, the techno festival changed its format: instead of traditional discussions about the future, the venue became a center for technological orders. Corporations formulated requests for solutions, and startups offered ready-made projects. «Creating promising partnerships and bringing new high-tech products to the market is one of the key tracks of Rostec’s development strategy until 2036. We are the largest engineering corporation, uniting dozens of industries and hundreds of enterprises. This is both a great responsibility towards the country and a huge resource that obliges us to constantly actively search for new ideas, startups, investment opportunities, and collaborations with other players to address current government challenges,» said Maxim Vyborny, Deputy General Director of Rostec State Corporation. Oleg Nikolaev, Head of the RZD Innovation Development Center, noted that RZD systematically works with startups through innovation tours and strategic sessions, helping developers understand the real needs of the business. "Over the past year, the company has conducted about 20 such tours, and as a result, four solutions are already at the stage of pilot implementation or procurement.

Over the past five years, Russian Railways has implemented more than 450 and scaled up more than 800 innovative solutions, resulting in an economic impact of approximately 2 billion rubles," he said during the strategic conversation «Big Order.» Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprombank, spoke about the criteria that large customers use to evaluate startups, and emphasized that corporations are willing to engage in negotiations with projects that can effectively present their ideas. The key factor, according to the expert, is the ability to quickly explain the essence, purpose, and value of the project. Alexander Voronin, Technical Director of the young company RoboPro, highlighted one of the key barriers in the interaction between corporations and startups: the challenge of translating tasks. It is difficult for young projects to understand what a large customer really needs and to create a solution for them. The topic was further discussed by representatives of government agencies, universities, and corporations during the session «Knowledge is Power: Why Businesses Need to Collaborate with Researchers.» The experts discussed how to transform scientific knowledge into marketable technologies and why it is no longer sufficient for businesses to simply consume ready-made solutions. «It is crucial to view the transfer of knowledge from science to the economy as a transfer of goods from a warehouse. Knowledge is transferred through people, knowledge is transferred through teams, and knowledge is transferred through experience. The government’s goal is to optimize this process,» emphasized Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. During the session «Buying Attention: Where Will the Money Go in Media, Advertising, and Telecommunications?» experts from Skolkovo, the Center for Artificial Intelligence, and retail and technology companies discussed how the communications market is evolving in the face of media overload. They agreed that it is no longer sufficient for brands to simply be present in the media space; it is crucial to understand where the audience makes decisions, which channels they trust, and when they are ready to engage. During the session «AI Lessons: Teaching Without Waiting,» experts in education concluded that it is essential to instill the skill of working with artificial intelligence from an early age. A school lesson dedicated to this new trend in education was held for the youngest participants of the forum.

At the AI Tomorrow business breakfast, held by the Skolkovo AI Center, Igor Shuvalov, Chairman of VEB.RF, praised Startup Village 2026 and said, «The festival’s platform breaks down borders and removes barriers, inviting those who are shaping the future economy to engage in direct dialogue. Here, startups meet corporations, investors meet promising projects, and development institutions meet companies in need of business scaling. This interaction generates a unique energy that propels us forward.»