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Venture Fund Bets on Acquisition Boom in Israel
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By Yuliya Chernova, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Venture firm VentureIsrael is raising a $25 million second fund to back early-stage deeptech Israeli startups that are primed to be acquired.
The firm plans to tap into the burgeoning acquisition market for Israeli startups. Merger and acquisition activity in Israeli startups hit a record high of $15.1 billion last year, with U.S. acquirers dominating, according to IVC-LeumiTech Israeli Tech Review. (The data excludes outlier deals of $5 billion or more.) The number of acquisitions, however, was just 106 last year, below average.
“Multinationals hunt Israeli assets in specific verticals—cybersecurity, AI infrastructure and similar arenas,” said Rafael Gold, managing partner at Tel Aviv-based VentureIsrael. Gold said that his firm seeks to be a micro-index of acquisition-ready Israeli deeptech startups.
VentureIsrael, co-founded by Gold and Managing Partner Gadi Isaev in 2020, is looking for science-heavy technologies that have practical applications today, Gold said.
The new fund already backed Remondo, which provides high-resolution satellite imagery at low cost, and Nuvo, which sells a remote fetal-monitoring device. Previously, VentureIsrael invested in Heqa Security, whose encrypted communication system is based on quantum physics techniques, CorrActions, which monitors car drivers’ cognitive state, and others.
The firm’s new fund has held a first closing on roughly half of its target all from individual investors. It plans to invest in about 20 startups at a quick pace of one to two years, Gold said. The fund has a five-year lifespan, about half the standard.
Gold said that there is an opportunity to invest in growing Israeli startups that were overvalued and are now raising at flat or down rounds.
“We are looking for down rounds where there is no stress,” he said. VentureIsrael will also invest about 30% of the fund into more competitive deals at higher valuations, he said.
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And now on to the news...
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Stratolaunch’s Talon-A ignites the engine for its first hypersonic flight. PHOTO: STRATOLAUNCH
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Hypersonic Weapons Race. The U.S. military has completed successful test flights of a reusable hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft, its first such accomplishment in more than a half century, WSJ reports.
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The win is a sign of the Pentagon’s progress in a wartime technology race in which China has a sizable lead.
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Two startups conducted the test flights of a vessel called the Talon-A: Stratolaunch, the company making the hypersonic test aircraft and based in the Mojave Desert, and Ursa Major, a Colorado-based builder of liquid rocket engines. The fully autonomous flights occurred in December and March, the Defense Department said on Monday, and exceeded five times the speed of sound—the generally accepted designation of hypersonic speed.
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New Tech Fund Backed by Jeff Bezos Courts Individual Investors
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The often opaque world of Silicon Valley venture capital is opening up a bit wider to individual investors.
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Hedge-fund giant Coatue Management is launching a fund that invests in high-growth public and private tech companies, and requires a minimum investment of $50,000, WSJ reports. The family offices of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and PC company founder Michael Dell have committed a total of $1 billion to seed the new fund, according to Coatue.
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“It’s such an obvious idea that if I don’t do it, someone else will,” Philippe Laffont, Coatue’s founder, said in an interview. He said he personally pitched Bezos and Dell, including one over dessert at lunch. (Laffont didn’t divulge which of the two.)
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Shamrock Capital Backs Consultant Neocol in Bet on AI’s Proliferation
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Investment firm Shamrock Capital is backing consulting company Neocol, betting on a business that helps companies with subscription-based revenue integrate the disruptive tide of artificial intelligence—including AI agents, which can automate complex tasks, WSJ Pro's Maria Armental reports.
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Neocol is the first investment from Shamrock’s new strategy targeting smaller deals. Called Clover and led by partners Ryan Smiley and Sam Halls, the fund typically writes equity checks of up to $45 million.
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People
Fintech startup Capitolis appointed Amol Naik as chief operating officer. He most recently served as COO at Pagaya.
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Quantum Systems, a Germany-based provider of aerial intelligence systems for defense, emergency services and industry, scored €160 million ($181 million) in Series C funding led by Balderton Capital.
Parloa, a Berlin-headquartered provider of AI agents for customer support, grabbed $120 million in Series C funding from investors including General Catalyst, giving the company a valuation of $1 billion.
Statsig, a Bellevue, Wash.-based product development platform, landed $100 million in Series C funding led by Iconiq Growth at a $1.1 billion valuation.
Orca AI, a London-headquartered provider of autonomous maritime technology for the shipping industry, closed a $72.5 million Series B round led by Brighton Park Capital.
Wonderskin, a London-headquartered beauty brand, raised $50 million in Series A funding led by Insight Partners.
TSOLife, a Tampa, Fla.-based resident insight and experience platform for senior living operators, completed a $43 million Series B round led by PeakSpan Capital.
Recraft, a London-based generative AI design platform for brands, secured $30 million in Series B financing led by Accel.
Blinq, an Australia-based digital business-card provider, collected $25 million in Series A funding led by Touring Capital.
Sentora, a decentralized finance platform formed by the merger of IntoTheBlock and Trident Digital, is raising up to $25 million in Series A funding led by New Form Capital. The company is based in the British Virgin Islands.
AppSignal, an application performance monitoring startup headquartered in Austin, Texas and Amsterdam, picked up $22 million in Series A funding led by Elsewhere Partners. The company also appointed Brandon Swalve as chief executive officer.
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IBM launched services this week that allow businesses to build their own AI agents. PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Elite colleges lead a rush for the exits of private equity (Bloomberg)
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58 crypto wallets have made millions on Trump’s meme coin. 764,000 have lost money, data shows (CNBC)
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