Medvedev's Silicon Valley Visit Yields Deal With Cisco

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev came to learn about Silicon Valley and notched at least one deal in the process.

During his June 23 visit to the headquarters of Cisco Systems, the company pledged to invest $1 billion over ten years in technology projects in Russia. The networking giant, which already has a major presence in the country, said it will undertake a series of initiatives that include a $100 million increase in venture-capital investments in Russia, up from a previous commitment of $30 million.

Medvedev visited microblogging service Twitter and his schedule included a trip to Apple Inc., where he met with Chief Executive Steve Jobs; Mr. Medvedev is known as an avid iPhone user, and made use of an iPad during a speech at Stanford University later in the day. He also visited the Silicon Valley office of Yandex, a Russian Internet company, and met with Russian émigrés at a local cafe to exchange ideas for spurring innovation.