Israeli investment platform OurCrowd announced today that it now has $13 million in capital commitments for its $50 million Israel Resilience Funda fund the organization launched shortly after the Israel-Hamas war began supporting startups affected by the war or developing solutions for Israel’s immediate needs.
Already, the fund has granted financing to eight companies. Among them are food technology startups BlueTree and Carrar, a startup creating a thermal management solution for electric vehicles, both of which were recently forced to relocate their facilities. The fund also invested in aerial photography specialist Edgybees and Veroboticsa robotics startup currently focused on cleaning and inspecting the facades of high-rise buildings.
Jeff Kupietzky, Jon Medved, Alon Tal and Maya Zachodin Koren — members of the Israel Resilience Fund team. Image Credits: OurCrowd
OurCrowd plans to raise a total of $50 million for the fund, which charges no management fees or bears interest. In total, the fund will invest in around 50 startups.
“Many venture-backed companies in Israel are already struggling due to the global business slowdown and now face even more severe obstacles due to the war in Gaza, which require immediate, focused investment,” he explained. OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved; “The Israel Resilience Fund will seek to generate strong returns for investors by taking advantage of depressed valuations in the current market, while supporting many Israeli companies to survive the crisis and thrive in the long term.”
Similarly, Resilience Fund operating partner Jeff Kupietzky, who recently sold his startup Jeeng to OpenWeb for $100 million, noted that aside from financial issues, the fund also aims to help startups that now face operational challenges due to the war. “Startups do not know when international investors will continue to invest in Israeli startups as they wait for the conflict to subside. In addition, companies face operational challenges with key personnel being called up to the military reserves, while evacuations and missile launches challenge day-to-day business operations. “Companies are continuing resiliently, yet many need funding to extend corridors through the crisis and boost their overall success,” he said.
