It’s been a big international week for OurCrowd, especially with our friends down under.
New Zealand
OurCrowd portfolio company mPrest, a startup that has developed expansive system solutions and monitoring, among which was developing the system behind the life-saving Iron Dome technology, has attracted international attention to the tune of $10 million dollars. They received
News of Vector’s Investment.
this investment from Vector limited, New Zealand’s largest gas and electric conglomerate, an introduction that OurCrowd made.
mPrest is at the forefront of updating and rethinking monitoring technology for energy use, which could lead to expansive money and energy savings. The startup is a leader in IoT, and has focused considerable resources into becoming the major “internet of energy” software player. This investment from inside the energy industry shows how seriously these solutions are needed. They will start implementation as early as May.
Australia
Ashley Krongold, Geoff Levy, Dan Bennett, and David Shein.
If you have noticed a lot of Aussies and Kiwis in the holy land this week, it isn’t a coincidence. This week marks the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day, the significant World War I victory of capturing Beer Sheva from the Ottoman Empire by Australian and New Zealand forces. 4,000 global visitors along with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy arrived to mark the occasion.
As part of this momentous celebration, OurCrowd Australia and Asia managing director Dan Bennet led a delegation of high-level investors to explore tech in Israel. Including 30 investors from Australia, Hong Kong, the U.S. and New Zealand, corporate representatives, and business leaders, the delegation went on a five day technology tour, and met dozens of companies, including many promising OurCrowd portfolio companies, in sectors ranging from MedTech and disruptive tech.
China
And finally, we had another major breakthrough with global epicenter, China.
Klook, OurCrowd’s first Chinese investment.
Chinese technology is taking off according to any measure, but oftentimes VCs and western investors have difficulty accessing the market. OurCrowd has expanded its reach beyond Israel into global territory in order to find the most cutting edge and relevant technology for our investors. Beyond the traditional tech hubs of London and the West Coast, we have invested in India, with car-sharing leaders Zoomcar, in Singapore with Near, and are constantly on the hunt for companies all over the world.
This week, we made our first Chinese investment, making the burgeoning Israeli-Chinese mutual affinity for technology actionable. The investment is in all-in-one travel platform Klook, which has shown major traction in the Asian market, with 1 million monthly bookings. We happy to be investing alongside Sequoia Capital China, Matrix Partners and Goldman Sachs.
These exciting international developments have only highlighted just how eager the international community is for new technology. OurCrowd is proud to be strategically poised to reach and provide a meeting point between east, west, north and south.
