Author: OurCrowd

OurCrowd’s portfolio company Consumer Physics featured in Mashable

Jan 4, 2016 | ,

OurCrowd’s portfolio company Consumer Physics was featured in Mashable, a popular website covering  the top social media news. Consumer Physics has developed the world’s first affordable molecular sensor – the SCiO – that fits in the palm of your hand. French startup DietSensor launched at the 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show a pocket-sized, Bluetooth-connected molecular sensor called SCiO. It uses near-infrared spectroscopy (the analysis of how molecules interact with light) to determine the chemical makeup of food and drink. SCiO can analyze substances based on how their molecules interact with light. While this may sound like a dream tool for dieters, the SCiO is primarily aimed at helping those with conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases keep a close eye on their diet. Seeded by OurCrowd and top tier Silicon Valley VC Khosla Ventures, Consumer Physics raised $3,300,000 from OurCrowd investors in its 2nd round of funding in May 2014. Read more on...

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Internet of Things: The next big thing in Israeli tech [Infographic]

Internet of Things: The next big thing in Israeli tech [Infographic]

Jan 4, 2016 | , ,

Bigger? Better? Try ‘smarter’! If you haven’t heard the term by now, Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the growing trend of machine-to-machine connectivity, where Internet-enabled “dumb” devices have a network connection to collect and utilize actionable intelligence about everyday life. The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) industry has been one of the biggest trends in tech in recent years and especially during 2015, where new innovation is disrupting traditional industries across the board.” – Forbes Over the past recent months, there has been a growing amount of impressive IoT activity coming out of Israel. To help visualize this new wave of Israeli innovation, a Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv early-stage venture capital firm — solely backed by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt — Innovation Endeavors, mapped the 2015 Israeli Internet of Things Landscape. SEE ALSO: Beyond tech: Why investors are bullish about internet startups According to their study, there are 330 Israeli IoT companies across five verticals and 23 sub-verticals, from the seed stages all the way to revenue growth. Out of the featured IoT startups operating in Israel, 11 are...

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OurCrowd’s portfolio company Consumer Physics featured in Sky News

Jan 1, 2016 | ,

OurCrowd’s portfolio company Consumer Physics was featured in Sky News, a leader in breaking news and top stories from business, politics, entertainment and more in the UK and worldwide. Consumer Physics has developed the world’s first affordable molecular sensor – the SCiO – that fits in the palm of your hand. Within just a few years, every smartphone could be fitted with a tiny molecular scanner that would transform what we know about the physical world. That’s the prediction of the CEO of Consumer Physics, an Israeli start-up company that has developed a hand-held scanner they say will open up a new branch of easily accessible knowledge for the public. Seeded by OurCrowd and top tier Silicon Valley VC Khosla Ventures, Consumer Physics raised $3,300,000 from OurCrowd investors in its 2nd round of funding in May 2014. Read more on Sky...

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4 Things to Know About the Future of Retail

4 Things to Know About the Future of Retail

Dec 29, 2015 |

E-commerce has become a market segment with a number of multi-billion dollar companies in just a few short years. With holiday season retail sales reports coming in and largely showing pure play e-commerce sites accounting for billions in sales, it’s easy to forget how young e-commerce is. Here are four things about the state and future of retail – pertaining to e-commerce’s rapid growth – as considered by our Investment Team over recent months: 1. We’re only through the first part of retail’s online shift It would surprise many to hear that substantially less than 10% of all retail happens through online channels. So, in spite of headlines like these, the vast majority of consumer purchases still happen through traditional channels. Additionally, this “first leg” of e-commerce’s growth is best described as a shift of retail expenditure to online channels. Overall retail spending has grown in the past 15 years, but e-commerce has not been a primary driver for the pie increasing in size. In spite of the ease e-commerce has brought selling and buying, the ability to transact digitally isn’t...

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