Softline Venture Partners, the corporate venture fund of Softline Group, became a co-owner of the Russian JSC T-One Group, which specializes in the creation and development of services based on navigation technologies for consumer and corporate markets. The parties did not disclose the number of shares and the value of the deal.
The key product of T-One Group is its own telematics platform. It is used to create and improve information and navigation systems for two categories of customers. The first one is regional authorities. T-One Group works with them under concessionaire agreements to create and upgrade existing regional information and navigation systems (RINS) to improve the quality of passenger services and to solve logistics problems. RINS systems, based on the platform of the T-One Group, are operated in the Moscow Region, the Omsk Region and a number of other regions.
The second category of customers is private logistic companies. The income from cooperation with them makes up a significant part of the revenue.
“Buying a share in the capital of T-One Group is investing in the rapid growth of the transport telematics market, which is simply inevitable in our country with its immense distances. At the same time, such a mature and efficient product as the T-One Group’s software and hardware platform has good chances to enter foreign markets, where Softline Group is traditionally well positioned. We will be glad to facilitate the export of products and technologies created in Russia to more than 50 countries where Softline operates” – Elena Volotovskaya, head of the Softline Venture Partners fund and vice president for investments at Softline Group.
“In any country in the world, transport infrastructure operators face roughly the same challenges. They include transportation variability, transportation safety and road network connectivity. The platform created by the T-One Group team effectively addresses all these challenges for Russian customers and is ready to offer its services to foreign customers. We will be glad to take part in improving the safety and efficiency of transport infrastructures operated by both individual foreign companies and entire countries” – Sergei Ponomarev, CEO of T-One Group.
