Israel Resilience Fund started first investments

21 December, 2023

The fund was established by OurCrowd to support Israel’s Tech Sector at Time of Crisis. Secured $13 million in capital commitments. The first 8 companies are slated to receive investments this month

Photo above (left to right): Jeff Kupietzky, Jon Medved, Noam Kaiser and Liat Sverdlov

The digital investment platform,  OurCrowd, announced the first close of its $50 million Israel Resilience Fund, with more than $13 million in capital commitments, and approved the first 8 investments from the fund. OurCrowd will waive all management fees and carried interest as a contribution to Israel’s current wartime emergency.  The fund, which was first announced just 40 days ago, becomes one of the fastest-closing venture funds ever to go from conception to closure and to make actual investments.

Jon Medved, OurCrowd Founder and CEO, said, “Many venture-backed companies in Israel are already struggling due to the global venture slowdown and now face even more serious obstacles due to the war in Gaza. The Israel Resilience Fund will seek to create outsized returns for investors by taking advantage of discounted valuations in the current market, while supporting Israeli companies to survive the crisis and flourish in the long run.”

The Israel Resilience Fund aims to focus on 50+ startups directly affected by the crisis. It is managed by Jeff Kupietzky, a seasoned operator with over 15 years’ experience as a high-tech CEO in the US and Israel. Kupietzky recently sold his company Jeeng to OpenWeb for $100 million. Kupietzky is accompanied by expert investment partners including Noam Kaiser, a former Partner at Intel Capital, and investor at Gemini Israel Ventures and Offer Hi Tech; and Liat Sverdlov, a Partner with the OurCrowd Investments Team.

Eight startup companies were selected to receive investments this month. Recipients include: 

  • BlueTree, which has developed proprietary technology to reduce sugar in natural beverages. The company was recently evacuated from its facility in Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanon border;
  • Carrarexperts in EV battery thermal management systems. The company was forced to relocate from its headquarters in Sderot near Gaza;
  • Edgybeesutilizing satellite and motion imagery to deliver actionable insights currently in use to save lives;
  • Veroboticsutilizing an autonomous robot for building exterior upkeep and proactive maintenance, whose key staff are serving in the reserves.

OurCrowd is a global investing platform that empowers institutions and individuals to invest in emerging technology companies at an early stage. Acclaimed by PitchBook as the most active venture investor in Israel every year since 2013, OurCrowd vets and selects companies across all sectors and stages, invests its own capital, and provides its global platform of over 225,000 registered members from 195 countries with unparalleled access and freedom to co-invest from as little as $10,000 in the companies of their choice.

Share via Whatsapp

Posted in: Business , Deals and Investments , News

Posted in tags: OurCrowd , startups , vc