We are not a fund, not an accelerator, and not a holding company
i-Free today is a startup studio and investor that creates and grows technology companies across several domains: artificial intelligence (conversational and generative), gaming, foodtech, fintech and billing solutions.
The i-Free model combines three functions that usually exist separately: entrepreneurial experience in building products, operational infrastructure for scaling, and access to capital and partnerships.
i-Free's operational management is handled by the management company team — professionals with deep expertise in running technology businesses.
Group History
2001
i-Free founded in Saint Petersburg. Mobile VAS services launch.
2002–2004
i-Free becomes one of the first mobile content developers in Russia, entering the TOP-3 content providers. Initiator of Mobile VAS Conference.
2005–2007
International expansion: Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, India, China. Best content provider of China Mobile (2007).
2008–2009
Control of ~60% of the Russian mobile billing market. Diversification into mobile games.
2010
The company created i-Free Innovations division, focused on NFC services, voice recognition, artificial intelligence, and telemetry technologies.
2011
Kirill Gorynya, Kirill Petrov, and Sergey Shulga focused on developing their international projects. i-Free management was transferred to the operational team.
2012
The company launched its own venture fund, which over several years supported about 50 technology startups.
2013–2014
Forbes Russia ranked i-Free 6th on the list of largest internet companies. 700+ employees.
2017–2019
The first Conversations conference on generative AI in business, products, and technology was successfully held. Koshelyok app reached 20 million registered users.
2020–2021
Sale of Koshelyok to Tinkoff Bank. Just AI raised a round at $40M valuation from MTS and Sovcombank. Just AI ranked 6th among the largest AI companies in Russia (according to CNews Analytics).
2025–present
Focus on AI Native approaches. Just AI valuation reached 3.5 billion rubles.
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