Author: OurCrowd

Pebbles Interfaces acquired for $60M, life-changing device for autistic kids, & the future of Israeli startup ‘unicorns’ [OurCrowd Newsletter]

Pebbles Interfaces acquired for $60M, life-changing device for autistic kids, & the future of Israeli startup ‘unicorns’ [OurCrowd Newsletter]

Jul 20, 2015 |

Find out which Israeli startup was acquired by Facebook; learn about the new life-changing GPS device for autistic kids; hear from investing expert about Israel, the land of milk, honey, and — mythical creatures; and more this week from Startup Nation… Start getting this weekly newsletter via email: Subscribe now Facebook-owned Oculus acquires Israel’s Pebbles Interfaces for reported $60M Facebook’s Oculus Rift will acquire virtual reality startup Pebbles Interfaces for a reported $60 million to expand the social network’s reach into VR — to keep the cutting-edge technology from their competitors. When you put on the goggles, Pebbles allows you to see your hands, feet, face, even your fingers with the curvatures and skin wrinkles so it actually feels like you’re in a virtual world and can interact with the objects. Learn more. OurCrowd & Portfolio Companies in the News  ReWalk featured in Digital Trends HeroX featured in The Huffington Post Influitive & OurCrowd featured on BNN Webydo featured in The Next Web Surgical Theater featured in MedCityNews Freightos featured in WSJ Boatbound featured in BostInno BioCatch featured in TechNewsWorld AngelSense gives...

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The Land of Milk, Honey, and Mythical Creatures: How to build a unicorn consumer company – from Israel

The Land of Milk, Honey, and Mythical Creatures: How to build a unicorn consumer company – from Israel

Jul 16, 2015 | ,

What does it take to build a unicorn in Israel? The term “unicorn” refers to tech companies that are valued at $1 billion by private or public markets. Israel has produced ten billion dollar unicorn exits over the last two years, a pace that is predicted to accelerate within the next few years. The Future of Israeli Startup ‘Unicorns’ Earlier this month, OurCrowd hosted an investor event with Yori Nelkin, General Partner of OurCrowd’s first seed fund investment vehicle, and Jim Scheinman, CEO of Maven Ventures. Scheinman has successfully achieved three ‘unicorn’ ($1B+) exits/valuations in 20 years and discussed with our crowd of investors how to build a unicorn consumer company – from Israel. View the webinar recording below or online here. Jim Scheinman (Maven Ventures) Talks Unicorns Jim Scheinman is the founder and CEO of Maven Ventures, an incubator and Micro VC fund focused exclusively on consumer internet and mobile startups with hyper-growth potential. He has achieved 3 ‘Unicorn’ ($1B+) exits/valuations over the past 20 years and serves as a highly engaged investor and mentor for all companies...

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[Plastiq in Beta Boston] Plastiq will move to San Francisco after raising $10 million

Jul 15, 2015 |

Boston-based Plastiq, which allows users to pay for nearly anything (including taxes, tuition, and bill) with credit cards, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $10 million in Series B funding in a round led by Khosla Ventures. Previous investors Atlas Ventures and Flybridge Capital Partners also joined the latest round of funding, which brings the total amount that Plastiq has raised to $20.3 million. Read more on Beta...

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OurCrowd’s portfolio company Webydo featured in The Next Web

Jul 15, 2015 | ,

OurCrowd’s portfolio company Webydo was featured in The Next Web, a leading technology news website. Webydo provides graphic designers a powerful set of design tools to build and maintain websites with little technical knowledge. Web design platform Webydo has a new look, and some new tools. Webydo 2.0 is “up to four times faster” than its predecessor, and offers a “Full White Label” solution for professional designers and agencies. Explaining the redesign, Webydo says it “provides a balance between richness of professional features and user-friendliness. The platform allows designers to craft, manage and host media rich websites seamlessly, with no excess rendering or uploading time.” Webydo raised $1,292,500 from OurCrowd investors in December 2013. Read more on The Next...

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