Startup investment – to 28/1/24

raised ; raised ; raised $30 million; raised ; raised ; raised ; raised ; raised ;

Exits, takeovers, and mergers – to 28/1/24

Israel’s is Israel’s for several tens of millions of dollars.

An island desalination plant

Israel is helping India establish a desalination plant in Lakshadweep – a group of islands off the Southwest tip of India.

Indian workers seek jobs in Israel

Thousands queued in India’s northern state of Harayana during a recruitment drive to send workers to Israel, where there is a shortage of labor. Masons, painters, electricians, plumbers and some farmers can earn five times more than in India where 17% of under 29s are unemployed.

J.P Morgan expands its Israeli tech center

Global financial services firm J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is reaffirming its commitment to Israel with the expansion of its Israel Tech Center in Herzliya, home to its risk and trade management platform Athena.

$120 million fund for deep tech

Israeli-European venture capital firm Cardumen Capital has raised $120 million for its second deep tech fund to invest in early-stage Israeli startups. The Israeli-European VC will select companies in fields such as AI, cybersecurity, big data, and information technologies.

$250 million for early growth

Israel’s Red Dot Capital Partners (see previously) has completed the funding of its third Israeli fund. It has over $200 million to invest in earl growth startups working across the Israeli tech industry sectors, including enterprise software, fintech and cybersecurity.

Not a bad year

The IVC-LeumiTech Israeli Tech Review 2023 has just been published. In summary, considering that Israel is at war, the Israeli tech ecosystem kept going well. High-tech capital raising was stable; foreign investors were not scared by the war and increased their share of funding over local investment.

NIS 1.2 billion to support hi-tech

Israel’s latest aid for startups includes a huge fund to invest in deep tech breakthrough scientific developments. It ranges from 50% of a pre-seed round to NIS 50 million for series A rounds. Startups with women, Haredi, or Arab entrepreneurs, or from the periphery will receive 10% more.

Average wage jumps by 10%

According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the average monthly Israeli wage in in Nov 2023 was NIS 12,651 gross, 10% higher than in Nov 2022 and well ahead of inflation. Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron was upbeat on the economy after cutting the BoI interest rate by 0.25% to 4.5%,