Apple in Talks to Open R&D Facility in Russia's Skolkovo Innovation Centre?

skolkovo logoRussian newspaper Izvestia reports [Google translation] that the organizers behind the Skolkovo technology park near Moscow are currently in talks with a number of high-profile companies including Apple, Google, and Facebook about locating research and development facilities in the area. Skolkovo has already landed agreements with Microsoft, IBM, General Electric, Cisco, and others, with the project's backers envisioning the region becoming Russia's version of Silicon Valley bolstered by dozens of major corporations.

According to the report, Apple officials in Moscow declined to comment on the claims, but Skolkovo executive Roman Romanovsky indicated that the two sides have expressed interest in negotiating about possibilities. No deal appears to be imminent, although Romanovsky hopes that the talks will eventually lead to an agreement.

Apple is in the process of opening up its first major international research and development center in Israel, looking to leverage its own expertise and that of Anobit, an Israeli flash memory company acquired by Apple earlier this year, to spur new innovations.

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Top Rated Comments

iDemiurge Avatar
175 months ago
It was a combined effort of all the Soviet republics that put Gagarin into space. To say it was just the Russians is not exactly correct. By the way, the quality of Roscosmos is declining. Even its officials are admitting that.

Dude, can you show the Ruskies some love? They've put up with one tyrant after another, and now with a kleptocracy, and still manage to be creative hard-working folks.

Plus, they gave us Tetris! You know that Tetris song that you can't take out of your head? It's a russian folk song!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spetsnazos Avatar
175 months ago
Same engineers who built this plane?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/russian-plane-crash-bodies-retrieved

no the same engineers who were the FIRST in space, the FIRST to travel the planet, and the ones that defeated Nazi Germany in WW2 with superior tanks that could be built quickly and efficiently.

Yea those.

And Russia is the only country that is still going to space. Can't say the same for NASA....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alex00100 Avatar
175 months ago
Сколоково рулит!
I'm russian and I'm really happy about it! Even if skolcovo is really a mess and noone takes it seriously. Apple certanly won't have any development here course we don't have any experts at this stuff.


can't help thinking they see it as: more jobs(more work) for less of a cost...
Salarys in russia are not far from the US ones. It's not Asia, it's Europe and salarys are almost as high as in the rest of Europe.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
verakot Avatar
175 months ago
Same engineers who built this plane?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/russian-plane-crash-bodies-retrieved

Well, of course your engineers never make mistakes like this, right?

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-14/us/bridge.collapse_1_gusset-plates-bridge-collapse-bridge-designs?_s=PM:US
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
175 months ago
Dude, can you show the Ruskies some love? They've put up with one tyrant after another, and now with a kleptocracy, and still manage to be creative hard-working folks.

If you consider what Russia had to work with, and what they've had to overcome, it's a testament to the people that they've thrived & survived at all, much less manage to put the screws to the US technologically, with all our resources, for decades. Apple working with Russian inventors and designers and engineers is an exciting development, far moreso than what Apple's taking advantage of in China.

Sure, Putins a wacko, but hey, we all get stuck with elections stealing militant psycho leaders from time to time.

And yea, their space program is still apparently cool enough for us, since ours is now based on theirs.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Discoverer Avatar
175 months ago
Same engineers who built this plane?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/russian-plane-crash-bodies-retrieved

Oh, so we already know that it was a technical issue with the plane that caused it to crash? Could you please give me a link to the official report? I'd love to read it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)