The final organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the 20th anniversary Russian Venture Forum 2026 took place. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Valery Falkov.

Also participating were the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Alexey Pesoshin; President of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Rifkat Minnikhanov; Director of the Investment and Venture Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan, Damir Galiev; and representatives of federal and regional authorities, development institutions, and partner organizations.

Key discussion topics included preparations for the forum, the business program, international participants, the exhibition, as well as organizational and infrastructural issues.

The Director of IVF RT presented a report on the current state of preparation for the event. He noted that this year the forum is being held for the twentieth time, and its main theme will be technological leadership.

The forum's program will include several thematic blocks: Innopolis Day, the main business program, evening events, sports and partner events, as well as a number of satellite events. The main forum days will traditionally open with a plenary session dedicated to the theme of technological leadership and investments in the future.

This year, the program has been expanded and includes eight key events, as well as a series of short expert presentations in the Tech Shorts format. A panel discussion with representatives of family offices—structures managing private capital and investing in technological projects—is planned for the first time. The program also includes the "Venture Games" competition for young entrepreneurs.

Three satellite events will take place within the forum: a youth day supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, a thematic section on bioeconomics, and a platform dedicated to the development of creative industries.

High interest from startups in participating in the event is noted. Over 1,300 applications have been submitted, more than 150 projects will be presented in the exhibition, and 210 startups will take part in pitch sessions. The international track will be represented by 25 foreign projects. The exhibition will be formed in accordance with the directions of national technological leadership projects.

A special booth featuring "star" projects—companies that have previously participated in the forum and achieved significant results at the federal level—is also being prepared for the anniversary forum.

A separate block of the program will be dedicated to international technological cooperation. Its goal is to develop the export potential of Russian technology companies and expand interaction with foreign innovation ecosystems. Representatives of EAEU, BRICS, and SCO countries, as well as international technology and investment organizations, have been invited to participate.

Based on the results of the pitch sessions, it is planned to select up to 20 projects for further accelerator support. They will have access to programs for entering foreign markets, including BRICS countries, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as accelerator programs based on technological and investment requests with the participation of venture funds and large corporations.

A mobile application with the event program and tools for business communication will be available for forum participants. A startup catalog and a separate catalog for investors have also been prepared.

The organizers emphasize that the forum's work will not be limited to its days. After the RVF concludes, work on project acceleration and the development of investment cooperation will continue.

The anniversary Russian Venture Forum aims to become the largest in its history and unite startups, investors, corporations, and representatives of innovation infrastructure to launch new technological projects and investment partnerships.