Figures published today by the IVC Research Center show increasing use of crowdfunding in high tech. IVC reports that 145 startups have raised a total of $197 million through crowdfunding over the past five years. The figures also show that 17 of the companies that utilized crowdfunding, 12%, have had successful exits. Israel currently has nine different platforms accommodating investments in technology companies through crowdfunding, two of which are foreign. The largest player in this market is the OurCrowd equity crowdfunding platform.
OurCrowd accounted for 58% of the number of crowdfunding investments and 81% of the total amount raised through this instrument. IVC notes that 2015 was the best year for crowdfunding, with 50 startups raising an aggregate of $57 million through crowdfunding out of $298 million in total capital raised by those companies, meaning that crowdfunding accounted for 19% of all the capital raised by those companies.
36 companies raised $34 million through crowdfunding in the first half of 2017 out of a total of $173 million raised by those companies, meaning that crowdfunding's share was again 19%.
Commenting on the figures, IVC research manager Marianna Shapira said, "Overall, the Israeli high-tech market is growing annually, both in the number of new companies established and in financing rounds. IVC has observed in the few past years that more companies are reaching mature stages of development, demanding larger financing rounds. Therefore, VC funds focus on growth financing. This transition leaves a void in earlier development stages. Equity crowdfunding platforms perfectly fit into this niche, answering this financing demand, mostly because of their natural tendency to invest smaller amounts per round."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on September 25, 2017
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