Israeli fund raises $115 million for medical startups
Israeli venture capital firm Peregrine Ventures Management Ltd. has raised a $115 million fourth fund. Peregrine has 45 med-tech, biotech, and life sciences companies in its portfolio and over $200 million under management.
Israeli-founded used-car company raises $0.25 billion
US-based Vroom was founded by Israeli-born Elie Wurtman and Allon Bloch, Vroom develops an online direct-to-consumer platform that offers low-mileage reconditioned vehicles, with possible finance and insurance. Vroom has raised a total of $694 million in funds.
Expanding crop analytics to Central America
Israel’s CropX (reported previously) is partnering with FarmAgro of Costa Rica to bring CropX’s agri-tech solutions and tools to farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean. CropX’s FarmAgro helps analyze the impact of climatic variations and improve agriculture yields.
More Israeli internships
This newsletter has included several articles recently about opportunities for young people from overseas to have an internship with an Israeli organization. You can download information on many more from the 1st linked site below. The 2nd link is just one example from the download.
Jerusalem – the world’s fastest growing tourist destination
UK business intelligence company Euromonitor International shows Jerusalem as the world's fastest growing destination. Its 3.93 million overseas tourists in 2018 was up 12% from 2017 and the projected 4.8 million visitors in 2019 is another huge increase.
Non-stop to Australia
Israeli airline El Al is to trial commercial flights from Tel Aviv to Melbourne Australia from April 2020. It will initially offer three flights each way, aimed to gauge interest in the potential of launching such a route permanently. Flight times are around 17 hours.
On the right track
The long-awaited 57-kilometer electric train route connecting Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon station and Tel Aviv’s HaHaganah station has opened to the public. Travel time is around 33 minutes, including a stop at Ben Gurion airport.
Israel is financially stable
The latest Bank of Israel's Financial Stability Report has just been published. Its summary: “The analysis of the environment in which the domestic financial system operates, and the periodic assessments of its resilience during the first half of the year, show that the system remained stable.”
Israeli VC speaks at Abu Dhabi conference
Israeli Venture Capitalist Jon Medved spoke at the SALT (SkyBridge ALTernatives) conference in Abu Dhabi. He is probably one of the first Israeli VCs to speak openly in an investor conference in the Gulf. See also the positive message from the Foreign Minister of the UAE.
Hundreds attend GoForIsrael conference
Over 700 participants from across the world, including 100 from China, attended the 2019 GoforIsrael conference in Tel Aviv. The business summit brought together global investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs for investment and collaboration opportunities in Israel.