In the midst of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war Shahar Botzer and Ido Fishler, managing partners of the Good Company venture capital fund, which specializes in impact investments, began thinking ahead.
Fishler explains, "We understood that victory for Israel in this war will not only be on the political or information battlefield but also by continuing to build and produce, focusing on Israeli high-tech, which is the engine of the economy.
"In the months leading up to the war, we worked on developing a tool based on AI, which would help startups in our fund reach a variety of investors. We intended to launch this tool in October, and then the war began. This week we decided to open the system for free use for all Israeli startups."
Botzer and Fishler say that currently, a number of leading companies and funds are already registered in the database, which demonstrates high motivation, despite the situation, to continue looking for investment avenues and good companies in Israel. "Google signed up, Sony Ventures, venture capital fund Viola, as well as large funds from abroad," says Fischler.
How does it work? Each party, the startups or the investors, fills out a form, and with the help of AI, the system knows how to match the relevant parties and connect them. According to Botzer and Fischler, their database includes more than 200 international funds and organizations, and in the first 48 hours that the platform was operating, about 140 matches between companies and potential investors were registered.
Register on the database here
Investors, get off the fence
Botzer, who was born with muscular dystrophy, was managing partner at B2 Community before founding Good Company with Fishler. "We are continuing to develop the current website in order to solve the financing crisis that startups in Israel are undergoing," the managing partners explain. "If Israeli high-tech will be harmed as a result of the war, and does not return to its previous strength, then Hamas has won.
"Their aim was to kill the concept of Israel and we need to prevent this. We are calling for investors to get off the fence. The market won't disappear and there are excellent entrepreneurs that have built first-rate technologies and there is no reason to stop supporting and investing.
The venture was founded with funding and support from Bank Hapoalim, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) law firm and KMPG accounting firm.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 5, 2023.
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