Newsletter Archives

In the News: FDA clearance, Fox News, and the UN Assembly votes with Israel on AgTech

December 9, 2019 by OurCrowd

We are incredibly proud of Sight Diagnostics for receiving FDA clearance for its OLO blood analyzer; OLO leverages AI with a revolutionary method to “digitize” blood, allowing patients to receive blood test results within minutes at the point-of-care, and with just a finger-prick. OurCrowd has been very excited about Sight Diagnostics from early on, and we are looking forward to celebrating continued innovation and success together.

Over the weekend on Fox Business News, Stifel CEO Ron Kruszewski explained why the investment banking firm partnered with OurCrowd. Watch here.

Stifel CEO on FOX

In other news, 147 nations in the UN General Assembly voted in favor of an Israel initiated resolution to help improve access to agtech capabilities for developing countries. This is another reason why we are so glad to back Israeli agtech companies like Consumer Physics, CropX, Taranis, Tevel, and more.

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In the News: Israeli tech made up 9% of TIME’s 2019 Best Inventions

December 2, 2019 by OurCrowd

TIME Magazine gets it: Israeli companies made up 9% of their top 100 leading inventions for 2019; but who’s surprised? Startup Nation’s tech ecosystem makes up for the lack of Israel’s population size with our abundance of brain power, entrepreneurial zeal and hutzpah. Plus, three of the selections are companies we proudly count in OurCrowd’s portfolio… Congrats to Lemonade, TytoCare and Intuition Robotics!

Exciting news for Alpha Tau: Following its clinical trial, the company announced the publication of exceptional data from Alpha DaRT, its novel alpha radiotherapy for solid tumors, which achieved a 78.6% complete response rate in management of challenging squamous cell carcinoma tumors. New clinical trials are planned for pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and vulva cancer.

Startup Nation and beyond

This groundbreaking OurCrowd-backed company is paving the way to save more lives…Zebra Medical gets FDA nod for device that detects water in lungs.

One of our newest mobility investments, Cartica, was just described as a ‘leap forward’ for autonomous vehicles. Herman Trend Alert noted that Cartica represents the “next generation of AI mobility solutions” whose “goal is to decrease road accidents worldwide.” Thanks to these futurists for giving “kudos to the Israeli venture capital group OurCrowd and to the automotive executives smart enough to support this development.”

The race for protein: How Israel can lead the race for developing the food of the future.

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In the News: The time that a startup made us cry

November 25, 2019 by OurCrowd

Occasionally one of your companies does something that makes you proud – this time it made me cry. Please watch this beautiful video from the Today Show about how Surgical Theater assisted in removing a brain tumor from 2-year-old Ari Ellman – saving his life.

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For a front row seat to see our startups going beyond, apply to join thousands of startups, corporates, investors, VCs, and more at the largest tech conference in Israel: 2020 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit on February 13th.

Startup Nation and beyond

Congrats to MeMed, awarded €2.5M from the European Innovation Council, which supports small- and medium-sized companies with breakthrough innovations.

Superpedestrian announces its $20M funding round, which OurCrowd was glad to participate in.

Have a look at two sectors in which Israeli startups excel on a global level, and offer exciting opportunities for the private sector in India: Ad-tech and media-tech.

Toyota’s AI Bets Go Beyond Automotive – for example, Intuition Robotics is focused on developing artificial intelligence solutions that act as a companion for the elderly.

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In the News: What is Startup Nation’s next act?

November 18, 2019 by OurCrowd

As I like to say, Israel has a knack for turning “curses” into blessings, as Forbes mentions: “From challenging initial conditions–wilderness and desert, surrounded by hostile neighbors–Israelis have succeeded in developing a diversified and flourishing tech sector that is hardwired for entrepreneurial innovation.” Read up on Startup Nation’s Next Act: Becoming The World’s Open Innovation Valley as well as why Israel is set to become a 2020s tech powerhouse.

Startup Nation and beyond

Exciting news for Trusona, named one of the world’s 100 most promising start-ups to watch in 2019’s Upstart100 by CNBC. See who else made the list.

UK Israel Tech Hub Launches 2020 Program With a Focus on Healthcare – The U.K. could benefit from Israel’s medtech capabilities, British Ambassador to Israel, Neil Wigan, said at the program’s launch event in Tel Aviv.

Check out which Israeli companies are driving innovation in diabetes care and treatment, including OurCrowd portfolio company DreaMed Diabetes.

NanoLock Security joins forces with Mekorot to collaborate on device level cyber defense solutions to protect critical infrastructure from outsider, insider and supply chain cyberattacks.

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In the News: All of our magic – summed up in one article

November 11, 2019 by OurCrowd

Simply one of the best and most intelligent articles written about OurCrowd in the last six years…How To Let Ordinary Investors Invest In Startups? OurCrowd Has The Answer.

And for the fifth year, OurCrowd is proud to be listed in the Top 50 innovators on KPMG’s 2019 Fintech100 list.

Did you miss OurCrowd Sync: São Paulo? Watch the 1-minute highlights; this was our first in a series of major global events to bring a taste of the flagship OurCrowd Global Investor Summit to a key region. Apply for your ticket to join us in Jerusalem on February 13th. (OurCrowd investors, partners, and portfolio companies are guaranteed an in-person ticket.)

Startup Nation and beyond

Congrats to OurCrowd portfolio company Ubimo, acquired by Quotient Technology Inc.

Hailo was recognized as a CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honoree – we are proud to have this company as part of our portfolio.

While many flock to Israel for its renowned Mediterranean menu, it is less famous for its food technology. Yet the country — home to more than 350 agriculture and foodtech companies — punches above its weight. What’s fueling the boom in foodtech?

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In the News: Big news – Stifel and OurCrowd to provide broader access to VC in our biggest US partnership

October 28, 2019 by OurCrowd

These past few weeks have been filled with truly exciting events which we are pleased to share with you.

In a groundbreaking move to provide broader access to the Venture Capital asset class, OurCrowd and Stifel Financial Corp. signed a major strategic deal, including investment. We’re celebrating our biggest North American institutional partner with tremendous distribution capability to Stifel’s more than 1 million clients through 2,200 financial advisors. We look forward to great things in the coming years with Stifel as a partner!

By the way, Bloomberg’s recent Businessweek article – The Big Money in Startups Comes From Investing Before the IPO – supports our mission, exclaiming that “the new IPO is the FPO—the final private offering.”

We are also proud to be partnering with Toyota Tsusho Corp., the trading arm of the Toyota Group. Together we can help startups turn into “scaleups” by providing access to Toyota Tsusho’s unrivaled platform that can deploy new technologies and products quickly and effectively in over 120 markets around the world.

Startup Nation and beyond

BioCatch helps the Royal Bank of Scotland detect a suspicious transaction in its corporate banking unit: Banks Use AI to Detect if It’s Really You.

Kudos to OurCrowd portfolio company Morphisec for discovering this important bug – Apple Warning: ‘Alarming’ iTunes Bug Led To Attacks—Millions Told ‘Update Now’.

With autonomous vehicles estimated to reach the market later than originally anticipated, OurCrowd’s Eli Nir and Yakir Machluf share a strategy for where and how to invest in a more distant future.

Investors around the world are looking at Israeli stocks, but they really want to get into Israeli startups – Read my thoughts on Israel’s “investment tourism” boom in The Jerusalem Post.

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In the News: The sector that nearly tripled investments over 5 years 📈

October 7, 2019 by OurCrowd

Parabéns! We reached a new milestone in São Paulo, Brazil, this month at our first ever OurCrowd Sync Conference, our biggest event outside of the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit. The event was maxed out and saw major players from the Latam tech ecosystem interacting face-to-face with industry leaders and decision-makers from the region and beyond. We also announced the launch of OurCrowd’s office in São Paulo, which we believe to be a key region for innovation. Look out for additional Sync conferences coming to your region soon!

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Did you know? In Israel, foodtech investment nearly tripled over five years. What’s fueling the foreign appetite for Israeli foodtech? See it here, and check out some of the alternative protein tech shown at the FoodTechIL event. As I’ve said, I think foodtech is going to become one of the most active areas of innovation – it has to be, because the world’s food supply, and everyone’s health, depends on it.

Startup Nation and beyond

Congrats to Karim Toubba and the Kenna team on the important Series D funding round…OurCrowd is proud to be part of this incredible story – Cybersecurity startup Kenna Security secures $48M to help organizations predict and prevent future cyber attacks using risk-based vulnerability management.

A real sign of maturity and good sense among Israeli entrepreneurs and investors: Content discovery startups Outbrain, Taboola to merge into $2B company.

Great FOXTV feature on how Surgical Theater is saving lives – Medical Advances: O.C. hospital uses advanced technology in the operating room.

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