Jerusalem-based global investment platform OurCrowd announced today the launch of the $50 million OurCrowd Medtech Fund, as well as the $30 million Impact Fund in partnership with Social Finance Israel to invest in companies with demonstrated alignment to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the Pet Health Innovation Lab.
These initiatives are being launched today at the 2019 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit in Jerusalem, the largest technology showcase in Israel with over 170 startups and 17,000 registered attendees. At the Conference, OurCrowd announced that it raised a $1 billion for 170 companies and 18 funds in just six years and that of those portfolio companies, 29 of them have achieved exit.
MedTech Fund
The $50 million MedTech Fund will focus exclusively on disruptive medical technologies and therapeutics with the potential to transform global healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. This is OurCrowd’s first fund dedicated to the rapidly developing medtech market and investments will be in such areas as medical devices, therapeutics, medical robotics and new developments in the medical industry.
Since 2013, the OC Medtech team has identified, scaled and financed more than $78 million in over 20 disruptive medical technologies. With its new fund, OurCrowd will continue to be a market leader in medical technology investment while also offering the opportunity to fund companies that are even earlier stage with hugely disruptive technologies.
The fund will be led by managing partners Dr. Morris Laster and Dr. Morry Blumenfeld and will be managed by a team of clinical experts with decades of experience in medical technologies and startup growth.
Impact Fund
Once companies are selected into the Impact Fun, Social Finance Israel and OurCrowd will work with companies to establish appropriate impact KPIs and an impact reporting framework. This accountability follows a recent OurCrowd/Social Finance Israel survey of entrepreneurs, which revealed a wide gap in management and practice: while 84% of entrepreneur respondents indicate their business has a social or environmental impact, only 13% are measuring or tracking their impact. Both firms will also provide guidance on partnerships and business development opportunities that companies can integrate in order to deepen and hone their impact.
OurCrowd Founder and CEO Jon Medved said, "We believe that it is possible to make money and do good at the same time. That is the best form of impact investing."
Pet Health Innovation Labs
OurCrowd has also teamed with PETstock, a leading operator of integrated pet retail stores and veterinary hospitals in Australasia, and Qure Ventures, Israel’s first exclusively-focused digital health fund, to form Pet Health Innovation Labs (PHIL), an Israeli hub for innovative pet health technology.
Medved said, "OurCrowd always has a finger on the pulse of the next big thing- the pet and vet industry is primed for explosive growth in the next few years, and with this new initiative, we will be at the forefront of this exciting market."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 7, 2019
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