Yandex has acquired the charging station rental service "Beri Zaryad!" and spun it off into a separate business line alongside other Yandex Go services — bicycles, scooters, and car sharing. The new direction will be headed by Artem Molchanov, Chief Operating Officer of Yandex Go, and "Beri Zaryad!" will continue to develop the service under his leadership.
The company noted that the main goal of the new direction is to simplify people's movement around the city. The primary task is to increase the number of charging stations and expand the service's geography. Yandex will identify the locations where services are most in demand using technologies for analyzing traffic flows and forecasting demand.
In the industry, the value of "Beri Zaryad!" was estimated at 1.7–3.3 billion rubles. The investment bank Aspring Capital acted as the financial advisor for the deal.
"Beri Zaryad!" has transformed from a venture project into a sought-after technology service over the past two years. The company has consistently attracted the interest of strategic investors capable of supporting and developing other services within a common ecosystem.
Yandex will invest over two billion rubles in the distribution of charging stations in the next two years. Charging station rentals will appear in Yandex Go in the first quarter of 2025.
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