This Monday will see the launch of Mobilion, a new venture capital fund investing in smart mobility. The fund is currently completing its Series A round of financing, out of a targeted $30 million. The fund will focus on after-market technologies, including services for drivers and passengers; monitoring and control systems; electronic components and communication; navigation; electrical propulsion; batteries; and more.
The fund says that its investment model mitigates risk for investors and startups by accelerating time-to-market by 40-60%, i.e., 2-3 years instead of the usual five years or more. This is made possible by the composition of the fund partners, which include NEXUS Automotive International, a community of more than 140 of the world’s largest automotive distributers operating in in 130 countries that generates an aggregate turnover of €19 billion annually, as well as tier-one automotive manufacturers; the Zbeda Group, one of Israel’s largest distributer of automotive products, under the leadership of chairman Eyal Zbeda, formerly a controlling shareholder in the Ace/Auto Depot Group; Avi Feldman, former CEO of Capital Nature, an investment firm focused on backing emerging renewable energy and smart mobility ventures; and Raanan Simhon as CFO. The founding team has been joined by Idan Katz as CTO.
The fund's claimed advantage is that before investing it can conduct ‘’due diligence’’ among manufacturers and assess market demand. Another advantage is the fund’s ability to identify initial clients for products, and steer development based on client needs and relevant markets.
‘’The fund’s new investment model will provide added value for investors as well as diverse investment opportunities," says Feldman. "Even though Israel has no auto manufacturers, it is considered an incubator for innovation and a leader in smart mobility. Our new platform will generate partnerships with tier-one players and distributers.’’
Initially, the fund plans to invest in 12-15 companies seeking Series A financing.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 23, 2019
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