Former prime minister Ehud Olmert is joining Kazakh businessman Kenges Rakishev in a new high-tech venture, Genesis Angels, and will be chairman of the company, Olmert told news agency AP today.
Rakishev, whose fortune is estimated at $225 million, said that the fund had already raised tens of millions of dollars. Other partners in the venture are Moshe Hogeg, founder of Mobli, in which Rakishev has invested in the past, and Yuval Rabin, son of Yitzhak Rabin.
"The Israeli relative advantage in high technology is not permanent and guaranteed forever," Olmert told AP. "It can change if there will not be enough investments in these areas of research and development." Olmert also criticized the current government, saying that not enough was being invested in the area in which Israel enjoyed an advantage.
Two months ago, Olmert joined the advisory board of social media company Buzzilla. Olmert will chair the advisory board and will join the founders and an investor group headed by Jack Lahav as a shareholder. Olmert will assist the company in business development and investor relations.
Buzzilla has developed technology for research of social media. Among its customers are Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF), Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL), Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL), and the IDF Spokesperson's unit.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 18, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 18, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013