Israeli Investors Raised $3.75B In 2021 – Report

A stellar $3.75 billion was raised by Israeli investors in 2021, but this was slightly down from the $4.5 billion raised in 2020, according to the IVC-Gross Investors Report 2021, which ranks venture capital fund activity in Israel.

US venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners dominated the scene as the most active investor in 2021, with 37 first investments, while Israeli active crowdfunding platform OurCrowd was a close second with 35 first investments.

Thirteen other venture capital funds made 10 or more first investments in 2021, the report shows.

The total amount invested by foreign venture capital funds in 2021 was three times the amount invested by Israeli venture capital funds at $10.771 billion vs $3.527 billion, according to the report. This shows the increased involvement of non-Israeli funds in the Israeli high-tech industry and the general tendency of non-Israeli funds to invest in later rounds, IVC-Gross said.

Nine Israeli venture capital management companies have more than $1 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM). The largest venture capital fund in terms of AUM is Vintage at $2.655 billion, followed by Pitango at $2.415 billion.

While the top vertical for VC investment from 2015 to 2020 was big data, this vertical was in 3rd place in 2021. The leading verticals, by number of companies, are cybersecurity (47), fintech (45), big data (42), IoT (37) and digital health (31) in 2021.

The significant fundraising by venture capital funds in 2021 means there is ample “dry powder” to continue supporting startups in 2022 and beyond, IVC Research Center said in a statement. Also, many companies that raised significant amounts still have “sufficient cash” to weather the storm.

It is expected that investors will focus their investments and support on growth companies with proven business model, substantial revenues, and enough cash to operate free of any financial pressure for the next two years, IVC-Gross said.

The report was put together by IVC Research Center, a comprehensive Israeli high-tech and venture capital online database providing information analysis since 1997 and law firm Gross & Co, GKH.