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Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

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Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#31

Post by EGreg »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #18
EGreg wrote: post #17

Quick, investigate pg for Russia collusion LOL. But seriously, let's put these reactions in perspective. Supposs the same was revealed the other way, about a US company having ties to the US government investing in Russian technology. We wouldn't bat an eye. This hysteria about Russian collusion makes us waste our energy and attention which is necessary to pay attention to the real issues (which I list below.) I am n…

> Compared to what the USA does on a regular basis, Russia is a pretty good actor when it comes to external dealings It has been a while since the United States forcibly annexed another country's territory [1]. In any case, this argument is irrelevant. Irrespective of whether Russia is a "good actor" or not, they are a geopolitical competitor who surreptitiously exercised control over, or at least non-public purview…

Would you consider the Iraq war a while?

Guantanamo?

Norriega?

Contras?

How long is a while? Or is only annexation considered the red line here?

If you want to blame Russians, you should blame the USSR for deporting the Crimean Tatars after WW2 as collective punishment. Being outraged at an annexation of a territory that was unilaterally given away 50 years earlier where not a single gunshot was fired while giving a free pass to an invasion of sovereign countries resulting a million deaths is not an argument everyone can agree with.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#32

Post by JumpCrisscross »

throwawaysml wrote: post #27

Is the difference to Chinese and Saudi money floating in the valley that we expect violent repercussions for anyone that opposes some aspect of the financiers' wishes? Or is it just that Russia is the most outspoken big nation that takes a different stance on critical issues where, say, Saudi and DC are in agreement. And that this is a danger to post-WW2 US influence? Genuinely curious. Back when Milner invested in F…

When Saudis, Chinese or Russian individuals invest, they do so openly. When Uber took Saudi state money, they knew why the Saudis were buying. I think this sort of state-backed investing is fine.

The issue here is companies didn't treat Milner et al as an extension of the Russian state. They treated them as private individuals who made money in Russia. The difference is night and day. The latter want to make money like other investors. The former may want things other than money. Transparency allows one to be wary about suspicious requests, requests which may not seem suspicious without context.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. Speak to a lawyer before accepting, or making, investments.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#33

Post by toomuchtodo »

pen2l wrote: post #30
seizethecheese wrote: post #10

Concerns about Milner And his ties to YC are not new. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3143604

> I meant that even if Yuri's money was tainted in some way, it was being used as a counterweight to another bad thing. Dammit, this is disappointing. I really thought pg was above saying things like that. Between this, thiel, and some other things, I am quite bummed out.

This is why you never meet your hero. Everyone is falliable.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#34

Post by EGreg »

kirillseva wrote: post #21
EGreg wrote: post #17

Quick, investigate pg for Russia collusion LOL. But seriously, let's put these reactions in perspective. Supposs the same was revealed the other way, about a US company having ties to the US government investing in Russian technology. We wouldn't bat an eye. This hysteria about Russian collusion makes us waste our energy and attention which is necessary to pay attention to the real issues (which I list below.) I am n…

Be careful when posting unpopular opinions on internet forums! You might get downvoted and get no constructive criticism in return

Come on this is HN. People are reasonable and welcome opposing opinions that are well argued. That should never happen!

:-P

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#35

Post by YuriNiyazov »

toyg wrote: post #26
YuriNiyazov wrote: post #19

I don't really get the hysteria. I work for an American company in San Francisco that has Tencent (practically an arm of the Chinese government) as a major investor. The number of times our CEO came in and told me that we need to implement features that benefit our geopolitical competitor is exactly zero. What precisely do all the commenters that are panicking here think happens at companies where the investors are p…

It also means that said government has unfettered access to your books, reports and IP. They know everything you do. This can be significant in companies like Facebook, that are critical to propaganda efforts and are increasingly gamed in systematic ways by state actors. If they know everything about FB internal operations, they can probably exploit its weaknesses in very effective ways. EDIT: to clarify, I used FB h…

This is quite far-fetched. You are suggesting that the internals (source code? general algorithms? product design documents?) of the Facebook advertising and news feed systems were sent to the Kremlin via someone who sits on the board requesting them. That's not how due diligence works.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#36

Post by malvosenior »

I’m having a very hard time understanding why anyone would be upset by the Russian government making technology positive investments. Especially technologists!

I wish more money was deployed into software development. Russia seems to be a positive influence here.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#37

Post by JumpCrisscross »

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #19

I don't really get the hysteria. I work for an American company in San Francisco that has Tencent (practically an arm of the Chinese government) as a major investor. The number of times our CEO came in and told me that we need to implement features that benefit our geopolitical competitor is exactly zero. What precisely do all the commenters that are panicking here think happens at companies where the investors are p…

Point is, you (and your CEO) know Tencent is an arm of the Chinese government. Passive state-backed investors are fine. If a random Board member told your CEO "let's get an NDA with so and so and then give them such and such sensitive data; it may help us break into a new market," your CEO may be inclined to take the advice. If Tencent made that request, most CEOs (and Boards) would do more digging.

There are Boards, today, realizing that suggestions that were made over the years may have been compromised. They sounded like they were for furthering the company's financial interests. In truth, they may have been about compromising the company, and through it, American geopolitical goals.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#38

Post by YuriNiyazov »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #37
YuriNiyazov wrote: post #19

I don't really get the hysteria. I work for an American company in San Francisco that has Tencent (practically an arm of the Chinese government) as a major investor. The number of times our CEO came in and told me that we need to implement features that benefit our geopolitical competitor is exactly zero. What precisely do all the commenters that are panicking here think happens at companies where the investors are p…

Point is, you (and your CEO) know Tencent is an arm of the Chinese government. Passive state-backed investors are fine. If a random Board member told your CEO "let's get an NDA with so and so and then give them such and such sensitive data; it may help us break into a new market," your CEO may be inclined to take the advice. If Tencent made that request, most CEOs (and Boards) would do more digging. There are Boards,…

To anyone that has kept track of geopolitical news across the last 20 years, it is obvious that no one in Russia gets rich without the approval of Kremlin. The fact that Yuri Milner is walking the earth is sufficient evidence that he's friendly with the Kremlin. No one who managed to rise to the rank of CEO would misunderstand the unstated implication that a request from an associate of Yuri Milner is a request that is at least done with the approval of the Russian government, so in that case, just the same amount of digging would be done as with Tencent.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#39

Post by Asparagirl »

malvosenior wrote: post #36

I’m having a very hard time understanding why anyone would be upset by the Russian government making technology positive investments. Especially technologists! I wish more money was deployed into software development. Russia seems to be a positive influence here.

Russia hasn't been a positive influence on anything since Shostakovich and Yuri Gagarin.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#40

Post by JumpCrisscross »

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #35
toyg wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also means that said government has unfettered access to your books, reports and IP. They know everything you do. This can be significant in companies like Facebook, that are critical to propaganda efforts and are increasingly gamed in systematic ways by state actors. If they know everything about FB internal operations, they can probably exploit its weaknesses in very effective ways. EDIT: to clarify, I used FB h…

This is quite far-fetched. You are suggesting that the internals (source code? general algorithms? product design documents?) of the Facebook advertising and news feed systems were sent to the Kremlin via someone who sits on the board requesting them. That's not how due diligence works.

> You are suggesting that the internals (source code? general algorithms? product design documents?) of the Facebook advertising and news feed systems were sent to the Kremlin via someone who sits on the board requesting them. That's not how due diligence works.

Have you conducted early-stage due diligence? I have. We signed an NDA and got to review source, plans, blueprints; spoke with engineers; jockeyed with management on what it should prioritize, what it should not; made introductions; et cetera. Board members get a lot of latitude at young companies.

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