Although, compared to last month the numbers of rounds went down, but thanks to 2 mega-investments and some late stage funding Israel's startup ecosystem remains relatively resilient to COVID fear, as August 2020 sees more money than last year...
Ok, so we’ve witnessed Israel’s tech ecosystem survive and even flourish during the ongoing global COVID crisis, but coming out of the usually slow month of August strong on top of everything going on, is quite an achievement. Throughout the month of August, Israeli startups managed to raise $612 million, from 19 different funding rounds.
Even though we’re talking about a slight drop from last month’s $670 million in fundraising, the collective sum is still eye-popping in comparison to August 2019’s numbers, when Israeli startups closed 16 rounds for a total of $350 million. Furthermore, when looking at 2018, the impressive upward trend continues to take note, as startups only brought in $280 million from 17 transactions, highlighting the year-by-year increase in capital finding a home in Israel’s innovative ecosystem.
Growth stage startups raise more
Out of the pool of fundraisers, 8 of the companies are experiencing growth, funding Series B rounds and up - as well as being responsible for more than $560 million of the total funded sum this month - while the other 11 funded Seed and Series A rounds. Two of the companies, Redis Labs and Gong, are responsible for almost half of the funded capital, with rounds closing at $100 million and $200 million respectively.
Unlike last month, when 28 startups participated in funding rounds, this month we saw 19 companies score investments, with the later Series’ rounds covering the bulk of investments received. Last month we witnessed Gett score the only mega-investment round, of $100 million or more, while this month we got to geek out over 2 mega funding rounds.
Other than investments, we saw one exit in August, with major global music label Warner Music acquiring data-driven viral content experts IMGN Media.
Furthermore, medical imaging company Nanox goes public on NASDAQ after securing $165 million in funding based on a $1 billion evaluation. The IPO comes following 3 funding rounds in less than a year, totaling $110 million - just last month the company landed $50 million. Nanox is joined by JFrog, which filed a prospectus prior to its expected IPO. The DevOps management company has yet to reveal company evaluation before the IPO, however, a surprising forecast could be the company’s over $1.5 billion in previous fundraising.
Israeli startup CAPS Medical, developer of a non-invasive tumor treatment based on “cold” plasma use, announces a $3.5 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by property management company Chasing Value and Israeli Investment Fund Group. The round also saw participation from the Technion R&D Foundation as well as from Israeli startup XACT Robotics - which aims to integrate CAPS Medical’s technology in its in-body robot.
Israeli startup EcoPlant, which develops an AI-powered IoT platform that helps save energy and costs for supporting infrastructure in factories, announces an $8 million funding as part of the company’s Series A round. The investment was led by Ecolab, a U.S. company that provides solutions for industrial infrastructure. In addition, part of the raised capital came from Techstars, Farm To Fork accelerator.
Israeli startup 3DBattery, which develops technology that enables higher performance of lithium ion batteries, announced a $3.5 million Seed funding round. The investment was led by Eliad Holdings, while Terra Ventures, CLP OSEG Energy Israeli innovation center, sandal maker Source-Israel, and Angel investor Sergio Fogel.
Israeli startup Yotpo, which develops a platform for promoting E-commerce sites, announced a $75 million E funding round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, while Vertex Ventures, Access Industries, and Hanaco all participated as well in the round.
Israeli startup Zencity wants to make sure that your city authorities are making smart decisions based on the needs and values of the city’s residents. This pushed the company to develop a system that collects information from across the web, and provide insight for municipalities based on resident review. Zencity announced a $13.5 million funding round led by TLV Partners and Salesforce Ventures, along with existing investors I3, Vertex, Canaan, and M12 - Microsoft’s VC fund.
Thriver, formerly Platterz, develops a system that is meant to help keep and improve company culture, even from afar. Today (Thursday), the company announced a $33 million Series B funding round led by Viola Growth, with participation from Union Tech, FJ Lab, Journey, Vertex, and existing investors Aleph and Altair.
Israeli startup Approved, which developed a platform that optimizes and improves the procurement process, raised $5 million in a Seed funding round led by Israeli VC Aleph, with a few Angel investors also participating in the round.
Uniper Care, an integrated social engagement and telehealth company focused on older adults, announced that it closed $4 million in funding to combat the issue of loneliness and isolation among older adults. The investment round was led by Zeev Ventures. Also participating in the round were Mediterranean Towers Ventures, a strategic investor in early-stage technology companies developing disruptive solutions for aging, and Angel investors.
Israeli cloud and network security startup Perimeter 81 announced a $40 million Series B funding round. The investment was led by the NY-based Insight Partners, which invests in growth-stage technologies and software, while existing VCs and Toba Capital also took part in the round.
Israeli startup EyeControl, which develops a system that tracks the eye-movement of ventilated patients, allowing them a channel for communication with family and medical personnel, announced a $7.5 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by Menomadin Foundation, Benslie International Ltd., Clive Barret and Connecticut Innovations, along with the company’s existing investors including Impact First, Zora Ventures, Rimonci Capital, and few different private investors.
Israeli FemTech startup MobileODT, which developed the EVA System for cervical cancer screening, announced a $4 million Series C funding round led by OrbiMed Israel Partners, with Tristel, Tara Health, and Laerdal also getting in on the action. The funds will be pointed towards the advancement of the company’s Augmented Intelligence solution.
Israeli startup Adaptive Shield announced a $4 million Seed investment led by Vertex. The company is developing a security solution for SaaS infrastructure.
Gong, which developed an AI-powered system to optimize enterprise sales teams activity, announced a $200 million Series D mega-funding round, based on a company evaluation of $2.2 billion, yep with a B.
Israeli InsureTech company Bambi Dynamic, developer of a data-backed mobility insurance platform, announced its launch, and deployment of the platform for insurers and mobility providers, to incorporate Bambi’s flexible and customizable insurance-related products. In addition, the company closed a $6 million Series A round led by MS&AD Ventures, which is the VC for one of Japan’s largest insurance and financial service providers. Also getting in on the action was existing investor, The Pheonix Insurance Company Ltd., One of Israel’s biggest private insurance companies.
Hour One announced the closing of a $5 million Seed round led by Galaxy EOS VC Fund. Kindred Ventures, Remagine Ventures, and Amaranthine.
Israeli startup GiantLeap, which preforms gamification for cognitive function tests for kids that can be conducted at home, announced a $900,000 funding round led by American VC GoAhead Ventures, as informed to Geektime. In addition to round investors were Fusion LA, an accelerator program for Israeli startups in the U.S., Texas Medical Center, and private investors from the states.
Israeli startup Redis Labs completes a $100 million Series F mega funding round led by Bain Capital and TCV, while existing investors Francisco Partners, Goldman Sachs Growth, Viola Ventures, and Dell Technologies Capital also got in on the action.
Israeli startup proteanTecs, which develops predictive technology for monitoring electronic chip performance, announced a $45 million Series C funding round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, with Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, and existing investors also joining in on the action.
Silverfort raises $30 million
Israeli startup Silverfort, which created a platform that enables 2-step authorization integration without changing the existing customer system, announced a $30 million Series B funding round. The investment was led by Aspect Ventures and Citi Ventures, with existing investors also taking part.
Israeli-U.S. based K2View, which provides advanced DataOps solutions for large enterprises, announced a $28 million funding round led by Forestay Capital, with participation from Genesis Partners. This hefty investment comes not long after the company saw over 75% CAGR in revenue, adding to its strong 2020 so far. This inject of cash will accelerate the company’s growth and expansion in the emerging DataOps market.
Exits and IPOs
Warner Music, one of the largest entertainment companies and record labels that the U.S. has to offer, announced over the weekend the purchase of Israeli startup IMGN Media, a data-backed, smart content distributor on social media. The full sum of the buyout has yet to be published, but rumored to be “under $100 million”.
Israeli advanced medical imaging startup Nanox raised an impressive $165 million following the company’s NYSE public offering. The IPO share price was marked initially at $18 per share, which was slightly higher than what was expected based on the company’s public prospectus. After the first day of trading on the NASDAQ Global Market, under the ticker NNOX, the Israeli MedTech company’s share experienced a 20% pop, closing the day at $21.7 per share. This puts company evaluation at over $1 billion.
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