Dmitry Alimov (Russian: Дмитрий Серге́евич Алимов, Dmitry Sergeyevich Alimov) (born August 17, 1974 in Samara, USSR) is a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and investor in technology businesses, founder and managing partner of the investment fund Frontier Ventures,[1] and co-founder of the online video service ivi.tv. He worked as a senior manager in companies such as Access Industries, TNT, Amedia, ru-Net Ltd, and Sputnik Group. In 2012, Russian business magazine, Secret Firmy, named Alimov as one of the Top-50 Russian Internet Millionaires.[2] In 2016 the European CEO magazine named Dmitry Alimov Entrepreneur of the Year (Venture capital).[3]

Dmitry Alimov
Born (1974-08-17) 17 August 1974 (age 49)
NationalityRussian
EducationHarvard Business School,
University of Missouri–St. Louis,
Samara State Aerospace University
Occupation(s)entrepreneur, venture capitalist, founding partner of Frontier Ventures investment fund, co-founder of ivi.tv

Biography edit

Dmitry Alimov was born in 1974 in Samara, USSR (now Russia). He studied applied mathematics and computer science at the Samara State Aerospace University. In 1998, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in the United States with a major in business administration (finance) and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2004.[4]

Alimov started his career at the mergers and acquisitions department of investment bank Renaissance Capital.[5]

From 1998–2002, as the vice president of a $1 billion private equity and venture capital fund Sputnik Group, he managed a number of venture capital and private equity investments.[4]

From 2001–2002, Alimov was the First Deputy General Director and a member of the Board of Directors of the TV channel TNT[4][6]

In 2004, Alimov graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA degree.[7][8] During 2004, Leonard Blavatnik invited him to work for Access Industries (Eurasia). Alimov was in charge of the company's investment in media in Russia and CIS countries from 2004-2005.[4][5]

In 2005, Alimov was appointed the managing director of Amedia and developed the company to lead the market in TV production in Russia.[5]

In 2008, Alimov left Amedia and sold his equity interest in the company to Access Industries.

From 2007–2010, Alimov worked as the managing partner of ru-Net Ltd venture capital fund which invested in Yandex, Russia's leading search engine, and Ozon.ru, the first Russian online shop.[4]

Alimov has backed major Internet companies in Russia. He co-founded and played a key role in the financing, launch, and growth of Russia's largest online video provider Ivi.ru and, on behalf of ru-Net Ltd, invested in the group, purchasing the site Biglion.ru.[9]

In 2011, Alimov founded a $50 million venture capital fund Frontier Ventures to invest in Internet businesses. In 2019, Frontier Ventures launched its second fund focused on US early stage technology companies.

Dmitry Alimov is a public critic of the Russian, United States, and many other governments.

Frontier Ventures edit

Frontier Ventures is an investment fund that invests in early-stage technology businesses globally with a particular focus on artificial intelligence companies with strong network effects. It was founded in 2011 by Dmitry Alimov. The fund was officially launched in March, 2012.[9][10] Frontier Ventures' investment team is based in Cupertino, California.

Dispute with Jim Rogers edit

In 2003, his widely circulated e-mail exchange with the famous global investor Jim Rogers made Alimov, then a student at Harvard Business School, a prominent figure among businessmen and government officials.[5][11] The dispute started after Rogers’ lecture at HBS. The co-founder of the Quantum Fund described Russia as a hopeless place for investors. Alimov wrote an e-mail to Rogers claiming that his statements and facts on Russia were not well-grounded. A long-lasting e-mail exchange that followed was eventually read by Alimov's fellow-students as well as businessmen and people from all around the world. The story was covered by The New Yorker, The New York Post, and other international media.[7]

In 2012, guest commentator Ben Aris in the Financial Times declared Alimov the winner of this debate after Rogers changed his stance on Russia and became an advisor to the agricultural fund run by Russian state-owned bank VTB Capital.[12]

Personal life edit

Dmitry Alimov is married to Julia Korneva, who is the founder of a blog on healthy lifestyle and longevity called "Live up!".[13]

References edit

  1. ^ "Frontier Ventures". frontier.ventures. Archived from the original on 2015-06-23.
  2. ^ Top-50 Russian Internet Millionaires(Russian) - Secret Firmy, 01.11.2012
  3. ^ 2016 Best CEOs - European CEO
  4. ^ a b c d e Dmitry Alimov's biography on Frontier Ventures web-site
  5. ^ a b c d Jim Rogers nemesis makes good Archived May 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine - Business New Europe, April 6, 2012
  6. ^ Appointments - The Moscow Times, December 11, 2001
  7. ^ a b "Reply To All, With History". The New Yorker. 2003-09-22. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  8. ^ Harvard Alumni Mobilize a Moscow Brain Trust reprint - The Moscow Times, July 19, 2005
  9. ^ a b Alimov launches $50 mln Russian venture fund - Reuters, March 26, 2012
  10. ^ About Frontier Ventures - Official web-site of Frontier Ventures
  11. ^ E-mail exchange between Jim Rogers and Dmitry Alimov - Autopen Hosting (Autopenhosting.org)
  12. ^ Veteran Russia bear Jim Rogers takes Moscow job - FT.com, 19.09.2012
  13. ^ "Live-up - Проект о здоровом образе жизни и долголетии". Live-up (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-05-13.

External links edit