The Motorika team, which develops robotic prosthetic devices for children, has been named the winner of the first episode of the “One-Million Idea” startup show, launched on the NTV channel with the support of Vnesheconombank.

The one-million ideas presented in the pilot episode were assessed by Vnesheconombank Chairman Sergei Gorkov, Senior Vice-President of the Skolkovo Foundation Alexander Chernov, Managing Partner of Almaz Capital Foundation Alexander Galitsky, President of the All Russia Public Organization Delovaya Rossiya and founder of R-Pharm Alexey Repik, as well as the musician and owner of the family Cupcake Story confectionery Sergey Zhukov.

The one-million ideas are also judged by viewers: they can pay and support any startup by sending a text or making a payment via the Boomstarter platform. More than 1,100 viewers offered their support after the first episode, by transferring a total of RUB 1.6 million to the startups. Social network users also showed an interest in the “One-Million Idea” show, actively sharing the video and their impressions.

“When we designed the ‘One-Million Idea’ show, we had two goals in mind. First, we wished to draw the attention of the community to technology startups, young inventors and talent in general. Furthermore, we wanted to support Russian entrepreneurs who know how to commercialize their ideas in the high-tech industry and help them make money in Russia using their expertise. Russia is rich in talent and we received over 500 applications. These inventions make our lives easier or bring people in trouble back to a normal life. The show features many socially significant startups. This makes us believe increasingly in such values as compassion and mutual assistance. Even if a project does not win in our show, millions will see it”, said Vnesheconombank Chairman Sergei Gorkov.

“I personally always look at the team — that is the priority. If you invest in a project, you need to work with the team for a long time and make sure it is stable, effective, competent and capable of learning. The second priority is the product’s potential market. And then you analyze the innovative component of the project”, said Managing Partner of Almaz Capital Foundation Alexander Galitsky.

Motorika, led by engineer and robot technician Ilya Chekh, develops prosthetic devices of several types. Functional prostheses modelled after superheroes from popular films help children with disabilities feel themselves to be fully capable team members at school or in the playground. More sophisticated bionic prosthetic devices are designed for adults and help them successfully perform in factories or offices.

In addition to Motorika, the pilot show features four more business projects by teams of innovators: Altair VR — a virtual planetarium, Elementaree — an innovative service to deliver ready-to-eat food, Iron Pillow — a system to protect the spine from impact stress in transport, and QRepublik — a versatile medium carrying information about a person for medics to use in an emergency.

The panel of judges will assess the feasibility and market capacity of the one-million ideas. Six projects will join Motorika in the final round. Three will be named winners and receive RUB 25 million, RUB 20 million and RUB 15 million for developing their business.

The next episode of the “One-Million Idea” will be aired on NTV on 13 December at 00:25, featuring developers of a piloted drone, a mobile app to protect against forgery, a system for restoring agility to hands and fingers, Russia’s first batch production of LED modules for cars, and a virtual piggy bank for children and adults.

Notably, as part of the agreement signed between VEB and the Roscongress Foundation at the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi in 2017, the show’s winners will be able to present their startups to domestic and foreign investors at the country’s key economic forums organized by the Foundation, as well as visiting SPIEF sessions in Russia and abroad.