"The nanotechnology initiative was announced in Russia in 2007 and it envisions financing in two directions: research in the sphere of nanotechnology, coordinated by the Kurchatov institute; and commercialization of nanotechnology projects, which the Rosnanotech corporation is responsible for," Leonid Melamed said.
He added that another $1 billion was to be spent outfitting scientific labs with modern equipment, and that the corporation's total budget was about $5.5 billion.
Clayton Teague, who heads the U.S. National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, earlier said at a meeting with the management of Rosnanotech in Washington that each year the United States allocated an average of $1.5 billion in federal funds to nanotech projects.