Israel Active

Liberty Strategic Capital, headed by former US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin (see previously) has made its first investment. Its funding of Israel’s Cybereason (see previously), plus funds from elsewhere, triples the value of Cybereason to $3 billion.

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Israel’s AnyVision (see previously) makes face recognition technology. It has just raised $235 million to speed up growth and development of its software. It is one of the largest visual intelligence funding rounds, giving AnyVision a market value of over $1 billion and the status of a Unicorn.

Porsche Ventures, has invested in Israeli motorsport technology startup Griiip (see previously). Griiip has developed a cloud-based data platform called RAMP (Racing Media Platform) that enables the transmission of motorsport data directly from the racing car.

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Israel has introduced two bills to encourage Israeli fintech (financial technology) companies to operate in Israel as well as overseas. Removing regulatory barriers for their Israeli activities Israel and tripling the amount of credit that they can offer to their customers. See example, Israel’s Sunbit in 3rd link.

When Israel’s IronSource went public last week, it generated 230 new Israeli millionaires and they will change Israeli society. The opportunities are out there – Israel still has more than 13,000 hi-tech job vacancies.

The Tel Aviv Innovation Ecosystem Report 2020 shows that the Israeli tech scene, and specifically Tel Aviv, is thriving. Tel Aviv is home to 20 unicorn companies – 14 having reached a valuation of over $1 billion in 2020 alone.  2020 investment in Tel Aviv tech companies increased 34% from 2019.

A key sign that Israel has turned an economic corner is June’s all-time record month of 30,000 new car deliveries. 183,000 cars were delivered in the first six months of 2021 – almost equal to all of 2020.  The world-wide shortage of microchips for new cars prevented even more cars being delivered.

Israel’s IronSource has begun trading on the US Nasdaq following its $11 billion SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) merger and the biggest public offering in Israel's history. IronSource will receive $2.15 billion to expand its platform for app developers. It is also making a profit!