A technology fund connected to President Vladimir Putin’s alleged daughter has acquired a stake in a Russian company developing alternatives to Western videoconferencing platforms amid a Kremlin push to curb foreign digital services operating in the country.

IVA Technologies, which markets its communications software as a Russian substitute for Microsoft Teams and Zoom, announced this week that the Technology Investment Fund, co-founded by Katerina Tikhonova, widely believed to be Putin’s daughter, has purchased a 1% stake in the company.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Technology Investment Fund, which focuses on seed investments in Russian tech startups, was launched by Tikhonova and her deputy, Natalia Popova.

Tikhonova, a former acrobatic dancer, heads the state-linked scientific development foundation InnoPraktika.

IVA Technologies’ core product, IVA MCU/Connect, is included in Russia’s national software registry and is marketed as a domestic alternative to popular Western platforms. The company is also developing email, calendar and artificial intelligence tools, including voice assistants and chatbots.