Israeli venture capital firm Magenta Venture Partners today announced a new venture capital fund to invest in Israeli startups targeting $100 million. The new fund had its initial closing in October 2018 and is planning its final closing in 2019.
Magenta Venture Partners is an equal partnership between Japanese trading and investment company Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and Israeli venture capitalists Ori Israely, and Ran Levitzky. The fund specializes in early-stage investments in Israeli and Israeli-related technology startups in the automotive, mobility, AI, smart cities, Industry 4.0, enterprise software and fintech sectors.
The four partners of the fund include Ori Israely, formerly of Motorola Solutions Venture Capital and Giza Venture Capital, Hiroshi Takeuchi of Mitsui who has relocated now to Israel after 15 years of venture investment experience in Japan and the US; Ran Levitzky, formerly from Viola Ventures where he co-led investments in early stage startups, and earlier held roles at Amdocs, Microsoft, and Verint Systems; and Atsushi Mizuno from Mitsui’s investment arm who has over 10 years of experience investing into Israeli companies and who has been living in Israel for the past 4 years.
Managing General Partner Ori Israely said, “Our name Magenta, is a blend of blue and red - the colors of the Israeli and Japanese flags. It signifies the strengths of Israel and Japan. Our fund is financially focused, but we look to invest in startups that not only look for capital but also seek value driven by the team’s experience in Japan, EU and the US. We also leverage our investors to analyze and validate investments, assist the portfolio, and help all the startups we engage during this process.”
"Investors in Magenta Venture Partners include Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd. who are looking to work with the fund to identify innovative technologies in Israel” said Hiroshi Takeuchi - Managing General Partner. “Magenta will also work on introducing benefits of cooperation with such LPs to maximize return on investments, expose LPs to innovation generated by our portfolio companies and also from our deal flow.”
“Magenta offers unique added value in Israel’s venture capital scene,” said Ran Levitzky, Magenta General Partner. “Israeli entrepreneurs have a clear understanding that building a significant company requires a variety of products that are marketed not only in the west but globally including the east and Japan in particular.” Mr. Levitzky added that the fact that all the investors in Magenta are large Japanese companies, provides significant added value to Israeli entrepreneurs and startups who aim to build global leading companies.
The fund's Venture Advisory Board includes Ron Shvili, former head of the technology center for 8200 unit and currently Cellcom CTO & VP Technology and Information Systems.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 14, 2019
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