Alexander Sysoev (Photo DR)
At the end of July, Alexander Sysoev, founder of the offline mapping service 2GIS, sold his stake in LLC “DoubleGIS” and left the company. The transaction amount has not been disclosed. Experts estimate it could be around 5.5 billion rubles, provided the buyer did not have an option with pre-agreed terms—in that case, the price might have been non-market.
The documents confirming Sysoev’s sale of his stake in 2GIS were signed on July 28, four sources close to the entrepreneur told Forbes. A source in a Russian investment banking group specializing in M&A also confirmed that the deal took place.
According to SPARK data, the merger of other legal entities with LLC “DoubleGIS” was recorded on August 1. The buyer’s identity has not been disclosed, but sources told Forbes it was a Sber structure. Sysoev, 2GIS, and Sber’s press service declined to comment.
Sber became the majority shareholder of 2GIS back in August 2020, when the bank acquired 71.94% of the shares of the management company LLC “DoubleGIS” (formally transferred to LLC “Digital Assets,” fully owned by Sberbank). A further 3% went to a joint venture between Sberbank and Mail.ru Group (now VK). At that time, the company was valued at 14.3 billion rubles. The remaining 25% was retained by the founders and management.
Following that transaction, Baring Vostok and RTP Global (Leonid Boguslavsky’s fund), which had invested $40 million in 2015, fully exited 2GIS. Their stakes had been 20% and 2.3%, respectively. According to RBC, Baring Vostok’s investment period in the project ended in 2020, and the fund was seeking an exit.
At the time, Sysoev said that the deal with Sberbank would not change anything for the company or its users. “We are gaining a strong partner with a very large ecosystem, which we need for the 2GIS product. And they need us in their ecosystem with our maps, directories, and IT,” he told NGS. Asked whether he regretted selling his company, Sysoev replied: “No, not at all. This is an excellent opportunity for further development, and there’s nothing to fear.”
Yet the merger with Sber did have consequences. In September 2022, the 2GIS app was removed from the App Store and Google Play due to sanctions against the state-owned bank. It returned to the App Store in April 2023. The company sued Google over the app’s removal and won. In spring 2024, the service became available again on Google Play.
How Much the Stake Could Be Worth
Forbes values 2GIS at $1 billion, placing the internet service 13th in this year’s ranking of the most valuable Runet companies. The market value of a 25% stake could therefore be around 9.4–14 billion rubles, according to Dmitry Kozlov, founder of investment company The12 Capital.
“Considering that 2GIS’s monthly active users (MAU) grew from about 50 million in 2020 to 78 million in 2025, its revenue may have increased by an average of 60% annually, driven by high inflation in the advertising market, reaching 19 billion rubles in 2024,” Kozlov analyzed. “In 2020, the company was valued using a P/S (Price-to-Sales) multiple of about 3.5, under much lower rates and risks. Today, the relevant range may be P/S 2.0–3.0x.”
There is also another valuation, he adds: under an alternative approach (company value/MAU), a 25% stake might be worth about 5.5 billion rubles. “However, this metric looks underestimated, since it doesn’t account for ARPU growth (Average Revenue Per User), i.e., the rising cost of ad placements,” he notes.
According to the expert, Sber may have had an option with pre-agreed purchase terms after the first deal. “In that case, the price could have been non-market,” he concludes. Most likely, the deal went through under the conditions set earlier when control of the company was acquired, agrees Leonid Delitsyn, analyst at Finam.
What the Deal Means for the Market
There is nothing surprising in Sber becoming the 100% owner of 2GIS, says Evgeny Borisov, partner at investment company Kama Flow. “We are seeing the completion of a step-by-step transaction, the structure of which was probably determined when Sber first entered the 2GIS capital,” the expert believes.
For large strategic investors, this is standard practice, he explains: first, a controlling stake is acquired; then, after meeting certain performance indicators and integrating into the ecosystem, consolidation follows. “The key deal was done back in 2020. This is more of a legal finalization,” Borisov adds.
The last TMT companies in Russia that could even remotely compare in scale to Sber emerged in the late 1990s—Yandex, Ozon, Mail.ru. Since then, all new developments (including VK) have always been absorbed by larger ecosystems, notes Delitsyn from Finam.
According to Borisov, for Sber, 2GIS is less an investment for profit than an infrastructure asset that strengthens its ecosystem: the service is integrated into maps, fintech solutions, delivery, and local service search. “Sber clearly aims to become the No. 1 player in geolocation, creating services better than competitors,” says Anatoliy Dmitrienko, deputy CEO of PSK-Solutions. “There is a trend toward narrowing audiences and shaping targeted navigation and geolocation services. Sber wants to learn to manage that.” For the market, the deal creates no new consequences—the growth and capitalization stage occurred five years ago, and this step only formalizes Sber’s full control, Borisov concludes.
“The geoservices market in Russia is essentially Yandex Maps and 2GIS. The state consolidated it through affiliated companies,” reflects financial consultant Anton Inshutin.
“He Didn’t Even Say Goodbye”
Sysoev spent his last working day with young Russian entrepreneurs from the Falcon community, founded by investment banker Igor Kovanov. The 2GIS founder invited them to share his business experience and show the sights of the Novosibirsk region. “We saw what drives 2GIS and why people truly feel ‘at home’ within the organization. We talked about many things: the company’s mission, vision, and values, its production culture and training. About the importance of employees not just earning money, but understanding where the company is headed and what it wants to change,” one participant shared.
In recent years, besides 2GIS, the entrepreneur had been involved in building a school and kindergarten, running a hotel business in Altai, and developing the equestrian wellness center “Svoboda,” according to another participant. SPARK records show he no longer owns such assets. Sysoev also mentioned other projects in Russia and abroad, but participants declined to disclose them citing confidentiality.
“As for why he made the decision [to sell his stake], he didn’t share. He didn’t even say goodbye, as if he hadn’t planned to leave [the company],” said one participant.
Alexander Sysoev devoted more than 25 years to 2GIS. The idea for the business was born “in a university attic,” he recalled. He studied at the Novosibirsk State Technical University, Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering. The first version of the mapping service was released in April 1999. Initially, it was part of the company “Technograd Plus,” a developer of graphic information systems. Five years later, in 2004, LLC “DoubleGIS” was established, with Sysoev as its CEO.
Today, 2GIS is an electronic directory with city maps, business address databases, and public transport routes. Among its innovations is a pedestrian navigator that shows crosswalks, fences, gates, and stairways, and real-time traffic light phases. The app also features “Friends on the Map,” allowing users to log in, share their location, and see nearby friends.
2GIS’s technology is also used in third-party projects: in 2018, its business directory was integrated into the Russian version of Apple Maps.
2GIS regularly appears in the rankings of the most valuable Runet companies and Russia’s best employers, according to Forbes. By July 2025, its monthly audience reached 86.9 million people, with 113,700 companies using the service to grow their business. 2GIS operates in 1,400 cities, not only in Russia but also in Kazakhstan, Italy, the Czech Republic, Chile, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Cyprus.
The company’s revenue for 2022 (latest SPARK data available) was 7.3 billion rubles, with a profit of about 1.4 billion. According to Forbes, for two consecutive years the company’s revenue from advertising and content sales grew by more than one-third.
Ilmira Gaisina
Roman Rozhkov
Forbes, September 5, 2025
This article has been translated to English by PSK‑Solutions LLC. The original version in Russian is available here.
This is an unofficial translation provided for informational purposes only. All rights to the original content belong to the original author(s), and no copyright infringement is intended. While we strive for accuracy, slight discrepancies may occur in the translated version.