SOLARGROUP: How the Investment Platform Works, Its History, Projects, and Opportunities for Investors
What SOLARGROUP Is and Why an Investment Platform Is Needed
Investing in early-stage technology companies is usually more complex than buying shares in publicly traded companies. A retail investor has to find a suitable project, review the documents, understand the terms of participation, and then monitor the business as it develops.
SOLARGROUP organizes crowdinvesting infrastructure for technology projects. The company provides projects with marketing support, IT solutions, legal support, payment processing, and infrastructure for investor relations.
For investors, the main interface is the SOLARGROUP personal account, where they can select an investment package and pay for it either in full or in installments.
It is important to distinguish the following from the outset:
SOLARGROUP is an international IT platform that facilitates investment.
Sovelmash and AERONOVA —companies implementing specific technology projects:
- Duyunov's Motors is an international project focused on developing the Slavyanka combined-winding technology and bringing it to the global market. As part of the project, Sovelmash develops and manufactures energy-efficient electric motors for industry, electric transport, agriculture, and household appliances.
- New Generation Airships is a project to develop, manufacture, and commercially operate innovative airships, implemented by AERONOVA.
A potential investor should therefore evaluate the platform itself separately from the specific project being financed through that platform.
The History of SOLARGROUP: From Its First Project to an International Platform
On June 1, 2017, the first online presentation of Duyunov's Motors was held, announcing the launch of crowdfunding.
By the end of the first funding stage of Duyunov's Motors, 9,786 participants had registered in the personal account, 1,715 investors had purchased investment packages, and a total of 1,852 share packages had been purchased.
The total amount of investment raised exceeded 50 million rubles. These results were published on September 23, 2017, when the project moved to its second investment stage.
Today, these figures are particularly relevant because enough time has passed since the launch to evaluate the model not only by its initial promises, but also by the tangible results achieved.
The central objective of Duyunov's Motors was to finance the creation of the Sovelmash D&E facility—an engineering enterprise for developing electrical machines based on the Slavyanka combined-winding technology and preparing them for production.
Construction of the D&E facility began in late 2020 and was completed in December 2024.
On September 17, 2025, the company received a certificate of construction completion.
And on July 22, 2026, OOO Sovelmash received commissioning permit No. 77-10-013289-2026, issued by Mosgosstroynadzor.
This is one of the most important results in the history of SOLARGROUP's first major project: years of collective funding led to the creation of an actual engineering facility that was officially commissioned.
SOLARGROUP in Numbers: The Platform's Scale
When assessing scale, it is important not to conflate the statistics of a single project with those of the entire SOLARGROUP ecosystem.
As of 2025, the SOLARGROUP platform had more than 583,000 participants from 194 countries, around 86,400 investors, around 23,100 active partners, and total funding raised exceeding $120 million.
In addition, during 2025, SOLARGROUP raised a total of more than $25 million for two projects—Duyunov's Motors and New Generation Airships.
These figures are not an indicator of future returns.
However, they do indicate the scale of the investment community and the platform's ability to organize collective funding for capital-intensive technology projects over many years.
Why SOLARGROUP Should Be Evaluated by Results, Not Just Promises
For a crowdinvesting platform, one of the most important questions is simple:
What happened after the money was raised?
In the case of Duyunov's Motors, there is a visible result.
The Sovelmash D&E facility has been built. Equipment was being installed in the building, and commissioning work was underway. In 2025, the company received a certificate of construction completion, followed in July 2026 by an official commissioning permit.
Can SOLARGROUP's collective funding system support a multi-year engineering and industrial project through to the creation of an actual facility?
The example of Duyunov's Motors confirms that SOLARGROUP's collective funding, launched in 2017, made it possible to implement a multi-year engineering and industrial project in stages: to build the Sovelmash D&E facility, equip it with modern equipment, and create innovative developments. Funding continues to support the company's operations until it reaches break-even.
What financial outcome will investors receive?
In Duyunov's Motors, an investor acquires SOLARGROUP investment units; SOLARGROUP owns a 49% interest in the engineering company Sovelmash, and once funding is complete, the units are planned to be exchanged for Sovelmash shares. A financial return may be generated as passive income from the investment or as proceeds from selling the shares if their value increases. No specific amount has been established; it will depend on the company's performance and valuation. The launch of serial production and sales of the first batch of Angle grinder units do not, in themselves, confirm the amount of future income.
How SOLARGROUP Works
For investors, the process begins in the personal account.
Investment packages are listed under “Investments.” Users can choose a suitable package and pay for it in full or in installments.
Investment packages vary in the number of units, price, and payment terms.
The price of a single investment unit may be affected by the package size, the project's stage, and how quickly the package is paid in full.
For most investors, the minimum payment may start at around $50 —for example, as a monthly installment on a $500 investment package paid over ten months. The minimum payment may vary by region and funding stage.
In simplified terms, the process works as follows:
investor → SOLARGROUP personal account → investment package → funding for the selected technology project.
The subsequent legal structure depends on the specific project.
SOLARGROUP and the Project Company Are Not the Same Entity
This is one of the key distinctions that a potential investor needs to understand.
SOLARGROUP organizes the infrastructure for raising collective funding.
The project company is responsible for the technology and the business: product development, testing, production, the necessary regulatory procedures, customer acquisition, and commercialization.
The simplified chain is as follows:
Investor → SOLARGROUP → project → project company → technology → production → commercial business.
Therefore, the platform's successful track record does not automatically mean that every new project will succeed.
For example, the completion and commissioning of the Sovelmash D&E facility is an important result when assessing SOLARGROUP's ability to support long-term funding.
However, AERONOVA's technological and commercial prospects must be analyzed separately based on AERONOVA's own results.
What Exactly an Investor Receives
The knowledge base provides the following wording:
At present, an investor in Duyunov's Motors holds SOLARGROUP investment units, while Sovelmash remains an LLC. The commissioning permit for the enterprise has been obtained; the next confirmed stages are asset valuation and the reorganization of the LLC into a JSC. An appraiser is being selected.
Once the necessary corporate procedures have been completed, the SOLARGROUP investment units are planned to be exchanged for Sovelmash shares. Approximately 49% of the company is earmarked for investors, with each investor's portion proportional to the number of units they hold.
The exchange of units for shares has not yet taken place. The reorganization is planned for 2026, and the company will announce the specific stages and timing separately.
Why Investors from Different Countries Use the Platform
SOLARGROUP serves an international audience.
The platform has registered users from 194 countries, and its interface is available in 24 languages.
Another feature of the model is the relatively low initial payment compared with conventional direct venture capital investments.
The option to purchase investment packages in installments lowers the financial barrier to entry.
How SOLARGROUP Supports Technology Projects
In SOLARGROUP's model, the platform's expertise can be distinguished from that of the technology developer.
The project company is responsible for the engineering work.
SOLARGROUP provides the collective funding infrastructure: IT solutions, marketing, legal support, payment processing, and investor relations.
The first major test of this model was Duyunov's Motors.
The next challenge is New Generation Airships.
Sovelmash: SOLARGROUP's First Major Case Study
Sovelmash's history matters even to investors who are not interested in electric motors.
It provides insight into what happens to a project many years after collective funding begins.
The timeline is as follows:
2017 — funding begins.
Late 2020 — construction of the D&E facility begins.
December 2024 — construction is completed.
September 17, 2025 — certificate of construction completion is received.
July 22, 2026 — commissioning permit is received.
According to SOLARGROUP data as of May 2026, more than $48 million had been transferred to Sovelmash since funding began.
The Sovelmash case is therefore better viewed not as proof of guaranteed returns, but as proof of execution—evidence that the collective funding model was able to support a multi-year engineering project and bring its key industrial facility to official commissioning.
What Is Happening at Sovelmash After the Facility Was Commissioned
Commissioning the D&E facility does not mean that the project's entire investment cycle has already been completed.
The next important stage is the valuation of the enterprise's assets and the corporate reorganization of Sovelmash.
The company is currently organized as an LLC.
Following the asset valuation, it is to be reorganized as a joint-stock company.
Only after the necessary corporate procedures have been completed can the announced model for exchanging SOLARGROUP investment units for shares in the enterprise be implemented.
The project's current status is therefore more accurately described as a transition from the construction and engineering stage to the corporate and commercial stage.
The physical facility has already been built and commissioned.
The corporate formalization of the investors' future ownership structure is still in progress.
Revised: What Other Technology Projects Are Available on the SOLARGROUP Platform
After understanding the platform itself, investors can turn to the new project—New Generation Airships—implemented by AERONOVA.
AERONOVA develops and builds modern lighter-than-air aircraft for transportation, logistics, and other applications.
By the end of August 2026, the project already had several tangible results.
The unmanned NOVA-01 and the hybrid AEROLЁT-01 have been assembled and are undergoing flight tests.
The company has also launched its own envelope production.
On August 19, 2026, AERONOVA announced that production of the NOVA-2 envelope had been completed.
The stated envelope specifications are:
volume — 2,000 m³; length — 43.2 m; maximum diameter — 9.6 m.
At the same time, manufacturing continues on the aircraft's tail assembly, gondola, metal structures, onboard electronics, battery systems, and other components.
On April 1, 2026, AERONOVA received a perpetual license from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to operate in the aviation equipment sector.
In August, the company also leased production space at the Kirzhach airfield.
This is where NOVA-2 will be assembled and subsequently prepared for flight testing.
What Funding Stage Has New Generation Airships Reached?
Stage 4 of New Generation Airships began on September 2, 2026.
Over the previous 3 stages, the project progressed from forming a team and building its first unmanned aircraft to manufacturing the full-size NOVA-2 envelope.
What SOLARGROUP's History Says About the New Project—and What It Does Not
SOLARGROUP's first major project already has a multi-year history, a completed facility, and a permit to operate it.
AERONOVA has experimental aircraft that have been built and are undergoing flight tests, its own envelope production, and the much larger NOVA-2 under development.
This is already more than an idea or a presentation.
However, there is still a considerable gap between the project's current state and mass commercial production.
Further aircraft assembly, testing, certification procedures, expansion of the production base, and validation of commercial demand still lie ahead for the project.
SOLARGROUP's previous experience can therefore be used as evidence when assessing the platform's ability to organize long-term funding.
How Investor Returns Could Potentially Be Generated
Investing with SOLARGROUP should not be treated like a bank deposit with a fixed interest rate.
The rationale for investing in early-stage technology projects is based on the possibility that a business may increase in value as it develops.
A company may progress through the following sequence:
idea → development → prototype → testing → production → sales → scaling.
If the project successfully passes through these stages and its business grows, the company's value could potentially increase.
In Duyunov's Motors, the potential investment outcome is linked to a future transition to a shareholding structure.
Today, an investor holds investment units within SOLARGROUP.
The next confirmed step is to reorganize Sovelmash from an LLC into a JSC.
After that, the SOLARGROUP investment units are planned to be exchanged for shares in the enterprise.
Subsequent business development—production, orders, growth in the company's value, and possible profit distributions—may then generate an economic outcome for future shareholders.
The fact that an exchange of units is planned must not be described as though the procedure has already been completed.
Risks to Consider
Even SOLARGROUP's multi-year history does not eliminate the risks associated with each individual project.
Technology investors face several main categories of risk.
- Technology risk.
Can a product with the stated specifications be created?
- Production risk.
Can the project progress from individual prototypes and pilot units to stable serial production?
- Certification and regulatory risk.
Will the necessary permits and certificates be obtained?
- Commercial risk.
Will there be sufficient demand for the product?
- Financial risk.
Will the capital raised be sufficient to complete all the necessary stages?
- Liquidity risk.
When and on what terms will investors be able to exercise their corporate rights or realize their investment asset?
Sovelmash's history helps investors evaluate the platform itself.
AERONOVA must be evaluated separately—based on its technology, current stage, testing, production, and future commercial demand.
How to Conduct Your Own Due Diligence on SOLARGROUP Before Investing
Rather than seeking a single universal answer to whether it is “reliable or unreliable,” it is more rational to divide the due diligence into several levels.
First, evaluate the platform itself: how long it has existed, which projects have already received funding, and what results they have achieved.
Next, review the legal structure of the specific investment.
It is important to understand:
- what exactly the investor is acquiring today;
- which documents confirm the investor's rights;
- which corporate events need to occur in the future;
- what is already a fact and what remains a plan.
After that, the project company and the technology itself need to be assessed.
It is especially useful to divide all statements into 3 categories.
What Has Already Happened
For example:
- the Sovelmash D&E facility has been built and received a commissioning permit;
- NOVA-01 and AEROLЁT-01 physically exist and are undergoing flight tests;
- the NOVA-2 envelope has been manufactured.
What Is Happening Now
For example:
- further work on Sovelmash's assets and corporate structure is underway;
- the remaining NOVA-2 systems are being manufactured;
- preparations are underway to assemble the aircraft at the new site in Kirzhach.
What Is Planned
For example:
- reorganizing Sovelmash into a JSC;
- exchanging SOLARGROUP investment units for shares;
- certifying future AERONOVA aircraft;
- serial production;
- scaling up sales and the business.
This distinction makes it possible to assess investment risk much more accurately.
SOLARGROUP: Who This Investment Model May Suit
SOLARGROUP occupies a niche that differs significantly from a traditional broker or banking platform.
It gives retail investors access to collective funding for early-stage technology projects.
A potential advantage of this model is the opportunity to participate in a business's development before it reaches a mature public market.
Today, SOLARGROUP's first major project already has an engineering facility that has been built and commissioned.
Sovelmash's next corporate stage is asset valuation and reorganization from an LLC into a JSC.
The exchange of SOLARGROUP investment units for shares in the enterprise remains a planned step.
The AERONOVA project already has aircraft that have been built and are undergoing testing, its own envelope production, and the much larger NOVA-2 under development.
This means that SOLARGROUP can now be evaluated not only by its initial promises, but also by its accumulated track record.
However, an investment decision should be made at the level of the specific project—by analyzing its technology, team, development stage, legal structure, economics, and risks.
This is the most rational approach:
the history of SOLARGROUP helps explain how the platform works; the results and prospects of each specific project help investors decide whether that particular project is worth investing in.