On this page:
- Background
- Israel-based Venture Capital Funds
- International Financial Institutions Active in Israel
- Professional Associations
1. Background
The decade that has seen the rise to international prominence of Israel's high-tech industry has also seen the emergence of a local venture capital industry capable of serving it.
At the beginning of the decade, a handful of Israeli entrepreneurs began taking advantage of the convergence of special factors that made investment in high-tech industry in Israel potentially highly profitable. But it took a government program, the Yozma Venture Capital Fund, to begin to put the venture capital industry on a firm footing. Founded in 1992, Yozma brought local investors together with prominent international investment names, and its privatization in 1997, after it had raised some $200 million, was perhaps a sign that the local venture capital market had reached a certain maturity.
The statistics tell their own story:
- In 1991, private equity funds raised $58 million. In 2000, the peak year, the figure was $3.3 billion, but it plummeted to minus $128 million in 2002, due to refunds to investors.
- There were 91 venture capital funds in Israel in 2002, but many made only small or no investment at all last year. Investment peaked at $1.27 billion in 2000, but plunged to only $481 million in 2002, including $62 million in foreign companies. Investments by Israeli venture capital funds in non-Israeli companies are an indication of Israel's integration into the global economy. Israel is not just an importer of capital. Over the past decade, Israeli funds have deepened their links with US, European, and Asian funds.
Investment by industry reflects global patterns and change. By 2002, communications had become the main focus of investment (albeit of a much smaller pie), surpassing software, while investment in life sciences companies had risen to third place and Internet had fallen far behind.
The high-tech crisis since mid-2000 has had a major impact. In addition to the plunge in new investment in venture capital funds and by the funds in start-ups, some funds have closed or merged, refunded money to investors, and curtailed operations. Some foreign funds have closed or curtailed their activities in Israel.
2. Israel-based Venture Capital Funds
Venture Capital Firms A-E
Venture Capital Firms F-J
Venture Capital Firms K-O
Venture Capital Firms P-T
Venture Capital Firms U-Z
3. International Financial Institutions Active in Israel
Standard & Poor's listing
4. Professional Associations
Israel Venture Association (IVA)
Tel.: 972-3-644-8197 Fax: 972-3-648-9949
The IVA publishes a yearbook, sponsored by Giza Group, that provides a wealth of detail about the venture capital funds and the companies in which they invest. Much of the information above was taken from the yearbook.
European Venture Capital Association