OurCrowd to Boost Investment in Seed, Early-Stage Startups
Already active in 5 incubators in Israel and abroad
Jerusalem – Feb. 13, 2020 – Bucking a global trend, OurCrowd is intensifying its incubator and early-stage investment activity to help grow young technologies.
OurCrowd, the global crowdfunding venture investing platform and Israel’s leading venture investor, invests in and operates five tech incubators with partners in Israel and New Zealand.
“We are looking for similar opportunities in other countries around the world. There is a huge opportunity in seed and early stage companies where the next generation of breakthrough technologies will emerge,” said OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved. “There is vast potential in early-stage investing and it’s a thrill to help these companies grow and thrive.”
“As other countries look to adopt the Israeli model, where the government assumes a substantial amount of the risk through funding by the Israel Innovation Authority, we are in discussions with half a dozen countries about establishing incubators,” Medved said.
The decision contrasts with the current trend in the venture capital industry, which saw a decline in early-stage investment despite a significant increase in funding in later-stage startups in recent years.
January’s IVC-Meitar Israel Tech Exits report on the decade to 2019, noted that Israeli tech companies raised a record $8.29 billion in 2019, a 400% increase since 2010. The report revealed that late-stage companies increased their share of total investment in recent years, while total seed funding fell. $149 million was invested in seed rounds in 2019, down from $169 million the previous year. From 2010 to 2019, the percentage of deals involving rounds under $1 million dropped from 24% to 17%.
Labs/02, OurCrowd’s first incubator based in Jerusalem, opened in January 2018. Twelve companies have been admitted so far with substantial success. Force Nock was acquired last year by Checkpoint Software, Israel’s leading Internet security company. Other startups have signed agreements with major global tech companies: Viziblezone with Google; C2A Security with NXP; ITsMine with Ingram Micro and IXden with Visa.
In the past year, OurCrowd and its partners won three additional tenders to establish incubators in Israel. Labs/08 in Beersheba will focus on AI, mobility, communications, and security. Two industry-specific incubators for foodtech and cannabis are being opened in Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel and Yeruham in the south.
Reliance Industries Ltd. and Motorola Solutions are OurCrowd’s partners in Labs/02 and Labs/08. Partners in the Foodtech Incubator are Finistere Ventures, Israel’s largest food manufacturer Tnuva, and Israel’s Pepsi and Heineken franchise-holder Tempo Beverages. Cannabis Incubator partners are Perrigo, the world’s largest non-prescription drug company, and BOL Pharma, Israel’s leading medical cannabis company.
In December, a consortium including OurCrowd won a New Zealand government tender for a Foodtech and Agtech Incubator. The consortium also includes Sprout, Finistere Ventures, Fonterra, and Gallagher, a leading animal management company.
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About OurCrowd:
OurCrowd is a global venture investing platform that empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies. The most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its capital, and provides its global network with unparalleled access to co-invest and contribute connections, talent and deal flow. OurCrowd builds value for its portfolio companies throughout their lifecycles, providing mentorship, recruiting industry advisors, navigating follow-on rounds and creating growth opportunities through its network of multinational partnerships. With $1.4 billion of committed funding, and investments in 200 portfolio companies and 20 venture funds, OurCrowd offers access to its membership of 41,000 individual accredited and institutional investors, family offices, and venture capital partners from over 183 countries to invest alongside, at the same terms. OurCrowd’s portfolio is diversified across sectors and stages, ranging from seed and series A through late stage and pre-IPO firms. Since its founding in 2013, OurCrowd portfolio companies have been acquired by some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Uber, Canon, Oracle, Nike, and Intel. To register and get involved, visit www.ourcrowd.com.
About the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit: “Where the startup world gathers”
The 2020 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit is one of the premier events in the tech industry, and the largest business conference in Israel. The 2020 Summit will take place February 13. In 2019, over 18,000 people from 189 countries registered to attend what has become the fastest-growing tech conference in the world. The Summit provides unprecedented insight into the world of startup venture capital, with exclusive exposure to cutting-edge technologies, the entrepreneurs behind them, and the corporate leaders deploying them. Top investors, venture capitalists, corporate partners, entrepreneurs and journalists come from around the world to get business done. The Summit anchors a week of events that include corporate meetups, VC forums, insider access to accelerators and labs, and cultural excursions, as well as nightly opportunities for great food, drink and networking with the global crowd. As Forbes reported, Summit Week in Israel was “the place to be.” Thousands more will participate through livestreaming. Learn more at summit.ourcrowd.com
Press contact: Leah Stern, OurCrowd Dir. of Communications / leah@ourcrowd.com / +44 747 019 6826 / Estee Yaari, OurCrowd Press Office / estee.yaari@ourcrowd.com / +972 50-200-7072
For Press Materials: https://blog.ourcrowd.com/seed/
