The second meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the 20th Russian Venture Forum (RVF), which will take place in Kazan from April 8 to 10, 2026, was held at the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov and co-chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Alexey Pesoshin.

Representatives of federal and regional departments, development institutions, and the scientific community participated in the work, including representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rifkat Minnikhanov.

Opening the meeting, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexey Pesoshin emphasized: "The Forum is of strategic importance for the Republic of Tatarstan. For many years, it has been a leading platform not only for the republic but for the country as a whole, where key trends in the field of technological entrepreneurship are shaped, measures for developing the innovation economy are discussed, and investments are attracted to the most promising areas."

The Forum is held with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. The organizers are the Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Russian Venture Investment Association, the Association for the Promotion of Digital Development, and the Innovative Technopark "Idea." The updated concept of the forum and the main directions of its preparation were presented at the meeting.

The Director of IVF RT, Damir Galiev, delivered a report. He announced that the anniversary forum will be held under the theme "Technological Leadership and Development of the Technological Entrepreneurship Platform" and will become the country's largest platform for the development of high-tech business. The forum includes six blocks: day zero (Innopolis), business program, evening RVF, sports and partner events, as well as three satellite events. A comprehensive program is also planned, which will unite the congress, exhibition, and communication parts.

"It is necessary to draw investors' attention to the developments, technological solutions, and products that our students, young scientists, and tech entrepreneurs are working on today. As many representatives of the venture industry as possible should be invited to the forum," emphasized the head of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, Valery Falkov.

The Minister added that it is also necessary to strengthen the international track of the forum and invite more colleagues from friendly countries to exchange experiences.

The number of forum participants is planned to increase from 5,000 to 6,000 people. The venue will bring together representatives of science, business, and government authorities. The exhibition will feature more than 150 startups at various stages (seed, early, and growth) and 30 international projects. Technology companies are being attracted jointly with key corporations and development institutions: Sber, Rosatom, Gazprom Neft, Tatneft, Yandex, FRII, ASI, Skolkovo, the Moscow Innovation Cluster, and others. The international geography of the forum will expand. Representatives of EAEU, BRICS, and SCO countries are invited to participate. An international acceleration program is also planned.

A central element of the Forum will be extensive work with startups. Ten substantive blocks of the business program are planned, ranging from reviewing the general state of the venture market to personnel training. The program also includes pitch sessions, round tables, a job fair to attract young specialists, satellite events, including discussions on endowment funds and university techpred. The official forum program will be accompanied by technological visits and networking activities.

For the first time, a competition for media with a prize fund of 300,000 rubles in four categories will be held. The competition aims to improve the quality of coverage of the technological agenda.

For the convenience of forum participants, digital services have been updated: a unified online platform and a mobile application with navigation, meeting booking, and operational communication functions.