OurCrowd Launches New $50M Fund Focused On Disruptive Medical Tech

OurCrowd, Israel’s leading global investment platform, announced the launch on Thursday of a new $50 million fund focused exclusively on disruptive medical technologies (medtech).

The announcement came as OurCrowd kicked off its annual Global Investor Summit in Jerusalem, Israel’s largest tech showcase, drawing thousands of guests and participants.

OurCrowd said the medtech fund was its first dedicated to a rapidly developing market projected to reach nearly $600 billion by 2024 and will aim to invest in startups and companies focused on medical devices, therapeutics, medical robotics and other new developments in the medical industry.

Currently, OurCrowd’s portfolio companies include Alpha Tau Medical, an Israeli medical technology company that developed breakthrough radiation cancer therapy now in clinical trials, Sight Diagnostics, an Israel-founded company that develops lab-grade blood testing systems for results in minutes and which recently raised close to $30 million, and Syqe Medical, an Israeli medical cannabis device firm that developed the world’s first selective-dose, pharmaceutical grade medicinal plants inhalers.

OurCrowd said the new fund positions the firm as a continued “market leader in medical technology investment while also offering the opportunity to fund companies that are even earlier stage with hugely disruptive technologies.”

The medtech fund will be led by managing partners Dr. Morris Laster, a healthcare executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, and Dr. Morry Blumenfeld, a healthcare technology expert, and will be managed by a team of clinical experts, OurCrowd said in a statement.

“The creation of the OurCrowd Medtech Fund is a natural extension of the prolific investments we’ve been making in the medtech sector over the past few years,” said Jon Medved, Founder and CEO or OurCrowd. “This move will give investors even more accessibility to promising Israeli startups upending the way we live and saving lives.”

Dr. Blumenfeld said: “Trends in worldwide population demographics are driving rapid growth in the healthcare sector, resulting in a substantial need for medical innovation. As the ‘Start-Up Nation,’ Israel offers the perfect backdrop to source and develop early-stage medical technology companies with global impact potential.”

Dr. Laster added: “With rising healthcare costs and an increased focus on outcomes and value, now is the time to introduce disruptive technologies to the marketplace that question the status quo and advance healthcare delivery.”