VK (company) facts for kids
.svg){kind=logo} |
|
|
Formerly
|
|
|---|---|
| Public | |
| Traded as | MCX: VKCO LSE: VKCO |
| Industry | Internet information providers |
| Founded | 15 October 1998 |
| Headquarters | Moscow, Russia |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Vladimir Kiriyenko (CEO) |
| Services | electronic mail, search engine, file hosting service, social networking (VK, OK.ru), instant messaging, e-commerce, communication, transport |
| Revenue | $1.36 billion (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).) |
|
Operating income
|
−$1.13 billion (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).) |
| −$57.1 million (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).) | |
| Total assets | $5.27 billion (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).) |
| Total equity | $2.45 billion (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).) |
|
Number of employees
|
More than 10 000 (2022) |
| Subsidiaries |
|
VK, which was known as Mail.ru Group until October 12, 2021, is a big technology company from Russia. It started in 1998 as the main company behind Mail.ru, which is an e-mail service. Over time, it grew to become a very important company in the Russian-speaking part of the internet, often called Runet.
VK runs the Mail.ru email service and its main internet portal. It also manages popular Russian social networking services like VK, Odnoklassniki, and Moi Mir. Besides these, VK offers many services for e-commerce (online shopping), transport, and communication. They even have special products for businesses, such as corporate email and communication systems.
In 2014, about 86% of all Russian internet users visited VK's websites each month. The company was one of the top 5 largest internet companies based on how many pages people viewed. In October 2021, Mail.ru Group changed its name to VK Company Limited. This new name came from its most popular product, VKontakte.
Contents
History
How VK Started
The company began in 1998 as part of Port.ru. This was a new company created by Eugene Goland, Michael Zaitsev, and Alexey Krivenkov. They received an early investment of $1 million from an investor named James Melcher.
The Mail.ru business grew very quickly. By the year 2000, it was the number one internet service in Russia. However, plans to get more money for the company's growth in 2000 and 2001 were stopped. This was because of a big slowdown in the technology industry. So, Mail.ru had to look for other companies to join with.
In 2001, Yuri Milner helped Mail.ru merge with NetBridge. NetBridge owned several internet brands. After this merger, Milner became the CEO of Mail.ru. The company officially started operating as Mail.ru on October 16, 2001. Before that, the brand name was owned by Port.ru.
Growing and Changing Names
In 2003, Yuri Milner left Mail.ru and started a new internet company called Digital Sky Technologies (DST). Later, in 2006, another important person, Igor Linshits, sold his part of Mail.ru to DST. In September 2010, DST changed its name to Mail.ru Group. Dmitry Grishin became one of the co-founders of Mail.ru Group.
In February 2010, Mail.ru bought a video game company called Astrum Nival. Astrum Nival then became part of Mail.ru. This studio is known for making games like Allods Online and Skyforge. In October 2010, Mail.ru Group planned to offer its shares to the public on the London Stock Exchange. This was a big step for the company.
In March 2012, Yuri Milner stepped down from his role as Chairman of Mail.ru. Dmitry Grishin then became the chairman while also staying as CEO. On May 11, 2022, Dmitry Grishin also stepped down as chairman.
In November 2012, Mail.ru decided to stop using Google for its search services. By the summer of 2013, Mail.ru was fully using its own search engine. In late 2012, Mail.ru Group also bought the internet address My.com. This showed their goal to grow in other countries. They also bought the Ukrainian email service mail.ua in late 2012.
Recent Developments
Mail.ru Group continued to grow by buying other companies. In October 2016, they bought the game developer Pixonic. In January 2018, they acquired ESForce, a company that owns different esports businesses, including Virtus.pro and SK Gaming.
In September 2018, Alibaba announced plans to buy a part of Mail.ru. In July 2019, Mail.ru Group teamed up with iDreamSky Technology Holdings to work together in the gaming world. In December 2019, Mail.ru Group partnered with Sberbank to create a food and transportation service called O2O.
In 2020, several large investment groups bought shares and bonds from Mail.ru. These funds were used to help develop the O2O service and AliExpress Russia. In October 2021, Sberbank and Mail.ru Group invested more money into their O2O food and transportation service.
In November 2021, Sberbank sold its shares in "MF Tekhnologii" (which controls VK) to Gazprombank. In December 2021, Sogaz Group bought all the shares in "MF Tekhnologii" that were owned by Alisher Usmanov and his partners.
On September 26, 2022, the VKontakte social networking app was removed from Apple's App Store. Other VK apps like Mail.ru, Mail.ru Cloud, VK Music, and VK Clips were also removed.
On October 7, 2022, VK's company "ITR" bought most of the shares of Movika, a company that makes interactive video platforms. On December 19, 2022, VK announced that it would buy a majority share in "Medium Quality Production." This company is a leader in making digital video content in the CIS region.
In February 2023, VK bought 75% of the educational website Uchi.ru. This meant VK now owned 100% of the company. Later in December, Uchi.ru was allowed to buy the UFirst chain of English language schools.
In early July 2023, one of VK's companies, VK Digital Technologies, won a contract to help government workers. The project involves moving Russian civil servants from Telegram to local communication services.
In December 2023, VK announced it had bought YClients Group. This is Russia's largest online booking and business automation platform. In 2022, this company helped 37,000 small and medium-sized businesses.
In February 2024, VK announced that it had created its own large language model (LLM). This is a type of artificial intelligence that can understand and generate human language. The model was trained using comments from public VKontakte groups. The first uses of this new AI are being tested on Mail.ru services.
In May 2024, VK completed a deal to buy Intickets, a company that helps people buy tickets. VK now owns 40% of this platform, which works with museums and theaters in Moscow.
Services
VK Group offers many different online communication and entertainment services for people who speak Russian around the world. These include:
- Email & portal – Mail E-mail, the main Mail.ru website, and other content projects.
- Social networks – VK, OK.ru, and My World.
- Instant messaging – Agent and Max (app).
- Online Games – Games offered through a brand called My.Games. This includes massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, social games, and mobile games.
- Search & e-commerce – Their own search engine, Headhunter (for jobs), and Price comparison tools.
- My.com – A platform that combines communication and entertainment.
- Cloud – Online storage space, similar to Dropbox, with apps for computers and phones.
- DST Global – Investments in other companies.
- Marusia – A voice virtual assistant app for smartphones.
- Сapsula – A smart speaker that uses the Marusia assistant.
- DonationAlerts – A service that helps people who stream videos online earn money.
Defunct
- Instant Messaging - ICQ (This service is no longer active).
See also
In Spanish: VK (empresa) para niños
