Medical imaging technology company UCG Technologies announced today that it had raised $2.2 million in seed capital funding. Veritas Venture Partners led the investment round. Giza Venture Capital and US and Israeli private investors also participated.
Among the private investors were ESC Medical Systems (now Lumenis) co-founder Hillel Bachrach, and Jonathan Adereth, former president of Elscint. Veritas founding partner Gideon Tolkowsky told “Globes” that, together with the private investors, his fund invested some two-thirds of the money raised. Veritas was also a seed investor in ESC.
Tolkowsky said that the sum raised was large for a seed round, and that Veritas decided to invest in UCG because of the start-up's experienced team. “Even in this drought period there are still funds that invest at the seed stage,” Tolkowsky said.
UCG was founded in 2000 by Dr. Shuli Cohen Shwartz, formerly of Elscint, who serves as the company’s CEO, and by physicist Dr. Israel Ohana. The company operates within the Haifa-based Technion Technology Incubator.
UCG is developing a product line in the medical imaging field in cooperation with US entities. The products are intended to improve the performance of existing medical imaging systems.
Veritas Venture Partners has invested primarily in companies in the areas of computing, communications and medical devices. Giza Venture Capital has increased its life sciences investments over the past twelve months, under the leadership of managing director, life sciences Dr. Avi Molcho, and vice president life sciences Allon Reiter. The investment in UCG is part of Giza’s strategy to invest in seed stage companies. Giza manages three funds totaling $311 million, about $100 million of which is available for investments in new companies.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on August 14, 2002