Financing Russia’s innovative IT business: Every debt comes due

The emerging global race for leadership in digital transformation escalates the critical importance of innovative IT businesses. Their viability, in turn, hinges on the availability of financing. Currently, Russia faces an acute scarcity of empirical research within this sector, thereby constraining the effectiveness of pertinent government initiatives. This paper presents the results of an empirical analysis of the financing characteristics of innovative IT companies in Russia during 2021—2024. We compiled the study’s informational base from SPARK- Interfax data, covering 1055 active software development companies that reported non-zero revenue and possessed consistently significant intangible assets. We investigated the interrelationship among the share of intangible assets in total assets, financial leverage, cost of debt, and profitability. Contrary to prevailing theoretical assumptions, substantial investments in intangible assets did not restrict access to debt financing for IT companies. We identified a consistently stable direct correlation between the share of intangible assets and financial leverage over time. We also observed heterogeneity in the financial strategies of IT companies younger than 15 years, whereas mature, highly profitable IT businesses prefer internal financing. During 2021—2024, the macroeconomic context held crucial significance for the investigated interrelationships, while state support measures exerted a certain positive influence on the industry. We conclude that, in the context of developing technological sovereignty, low-profit innovative IT companies younger than 15 years primarily require such support.