Big Tech 50 (TASE: BIGT) reports that an investment of $2 million in Orcam made in 2021, shrank to just $31,000 at the end of 2024. The Israeli R&D partnership notes that this is an independent valuation that is not related to the company's books, and is apparently done based on media reports, while attempting to confirm the information with company officials.
Globes revealed last month ago how a dispute between institutional investors - including Clal, Meitav and Migdal, and the founders of Orcam is preventing the rehabilitation of the company, which was damaged by the launch of OpenAI's AI models and by the war that reduced the company's sales in Arab countries.
Voyager Labs: Almost complete write-down
Another company in which most of Big Tech 50's investment has been written down is Voyager Labs, a promising startup that came out of stealth into the media limelight in 2016, when it announced a $100 million fundraising in efforts "to compete with Google." Big Tech has reduced the valuation of its holding in the company from $1.2 million to just $3,175, an almost complete write-down of the investment in the startup. As the main reasons for the write-down, Big Tech cites a venture capital financing round that significantly diluted shareholders. "The raise led to the dilution of shareholders to the point of wiping out the value of their holdings," the report says.
Big Tech also reveals that Voyager Labs was sued by Meta and waged a legal battle against it that ended in an out-of-court settlement. The lawsuit caused significant damage to the company, as it harmed its ability to serve government customers in the US - its main target market. The settlement signed between the two obliged Voyager Labs not to make unauthorized use of Meta's data and also forced it to pay it damages of an undisclosed amount.
Other companies inflicting losses on Big Tech 50 include OpenWeb, which appears to have been reduced in value by 18% following the conflict between the legal dispute between the board of directors and the founder; Verbit, which has seen its valuation written down 82%; and other companies such as Fundbox (down 75%), Blue Vine Capital (down 62%), Skai (formerly Kensho, down 42%), and Buildots (down 80%).
The R&D partnership and investment firm recorded increases in only one portfolio company out of 14 investments: Via, up 40% since its original investment in 2021. Overall, the firm has recorded a 55% drop in its holdings since its inception, which could also be the fate of many venture capital funds that turned to investing in startups and growth companies in 2021, the boom period during the Covid pandemic.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 2, 2025.
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