Dmitry Grishin

Dmitry Grishin (born October 15, 1978) is a Russian businessman, investor and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Mail.ru Group. Grishin also made significant contributions to Russia’s internet presence, Runet, in its early days.[1] In 2012, Grishin invested $25 million to found the first-ever robotics investment company, Grishin Robotics, to focus exclusively on consumer robotics.[2]

Dmitry Grishin
Born (1978-10-15) October 15, 1978
Kapustin Yar, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
OccupationBusinessman, investor and Internet entrepreneur

Early life

Dmitry Grishin was born in 1978 in Kapustin Yar,[3] a Russian rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast.[1] His father was a designer of radar systems for the MiG-29 jet fighter.[4] At the age of 12, Grishin saw a VCR for the first time and the mechanics of the machine sparked his lifelong interest in robotics.[4] During his sixth year of school, his parents bought him a basic computer, the Electronika BK, with which he played games and created his own programs.[5]

Technology Career and Mail.ru

While attending Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Grishin started working for the U.S. software company Axiom Int, overseeing programmers in Florida from his student hostel in Moscow. He worked as Design Engineer, Senior Software Developer, and IT consultant while with Axiom.[4] In March 2000 he began to work for netBridge as head of the project development division of the online auction site Molotok.ru;[6] a year later, he was promoted to CTO. After the dot-com bubble burst in the U.S., the company’s funding disappeared, so netBridge and Port.ru — another struggling company that included the project Mail.ru — merged in 2001.[6] That same year, Grishin earned his CAD degree with a red diploma for outstanding performance and became head of the service center for what was then called Mail.ru.[6] By December 2001, he was the company’s technical director. He became executive director in June 2002 and succeeded Yuri Milner as CEO in April 2003.[7]

Under Grishin, Mail.ru expanded to become Russia’s second largest web company by revenue. It provides a suite of consumer products including chat services, e-mail, and a social network, Odnoklassniki. In 2010, Mail.ru held the first large IPO by a Russian internet firm, raising $912 million.[4] In addition to chat, email, social, and search services, Mail.ru earns revenue from games and ads.[8] 90% of Russian internet users regularly use Mail.ru’s services.[9]

In November 2013, Grishin launched Mail.ru’s U.S. subsidiary, My.com. My.com is based in the Netherlands with operations in California. Since launching, My.com has released a suite of mobile messaging, e-mail and gaming applications for iOS and Android devices and has announced upcoming MMORPG PC games.[8]

In 2013, Grishin was named to MIT Technology Review’s annual "35 Innovators Under 35" list. Outside of Mail.ru, he serves on the Board of Directors in Haslop Company Ltd. (Search for «Mamba» in the Internet) and Molotok Holdings Ltd. (Links on the Internet: «Molotok.ru»). Grishin resides in Moscow, and is married with one child. He speaks Russian, English and Chinese.

In 2016, Grishin stepped down as CEO of Mail.ru, but remains Chairman.[10]

Grishin Robotics

In June 2012, Grishin founded a venture capital investment firm, Grishin Robotics, initially capitalized $25 million from his personal fortune. The company initially focused on investments in the field of personal robotics worldwide.[2] To date, Grishin Robotics has invested in eight companies, including NanoSatisfi, which offers affordable access to satellites, and Petnet, which helps owners monitor their pet’s health.[11] Through these investments, Grishin said he hopes to raise the profile of the robotics industry and “bring robots to the homes and offices of tens of millions of people”.[5]

Timeline of Grishin Robotics investments:

  • September 2012: Double Robotics
  • December 2012: RobotsLab (RobotsAppStore)
  • February 2013: Bolt
  • May 2013: Swivl
  • July 2013: NanoSatisfi
  • January 2014: Petnet
  • February 2014: Boombotix
  • May 2014: Orbotix
  • June 2015: littleBits
  • July 2015: Occipital

Education
  • 1995 - Graduated from physics and mathematics school No. 4, Saratov(Russia)
  • 2001 - Finished MSTU with red diploma with a degree CAD

Career
  • 1998 - 2001 - Axiom Int. (United States, Florida, Clear Water)
  • Since December 1998 - software engineer
  • Since October, 1999 - senior software engineer
  • From March 2000 to May 2001 - IT-consultant

netBridge Services (further Mail.Ru):

  • From March 2000 - Head of project development Molotok.ru
  • Since May, 2001 - Head Service Center
  • Since December 2001 - Technical Director Mail.Ru
  • Since June 2002 - Executive Director Mail.Ru
  • From April 2003 - CEO Mail.Ru
  • In 2005 - one of the founders of Mail.Ru Group
  • In 2010 - CEO Mail.Ru Group
  • In 2012 - Chairman of the Board of Directors Mail.Ru Group
  • November 2013 - Launched U.S. subsidiary, My.com
  • June 2012 - Founded Grishin Robotics

References
  2. Not Science Fiction Anymore: Mail.ru's Dmitry Grishin Launches $25M Robotics Fund
  3. Гришин Дмитрий Сергеевич (in Russian)
  5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshwolfe/2013/07/11/from-russia-with-robots-interview-with-dmitry-grishin/
  10. TechCrunch. Mail.ru co-founder Dmitry Grishin steps down as CEO, replaced by VK head Dobrodeev
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