Israeli crowdfunded-venture investment platform OurCrowd today announced the launch of its Pandemic Innovation Fund. The fund plans to raise $100 million for investment in urgent technological solutions for the medical, business, educational and social needs triggered by global pandemics and other health emergencies.
OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said, "The rapid spread of the coronavirus has validated our vision of a connected digital world poised to solve any crisis through global communication and rapid response."
He added, "To ensure that we get the world back on track, there is now an urgent need for innovation. Technology can help us overcome many of the problems resulting from the crisis. It’s time for tech to move fast and fix things."
OurCrowd’s Pandemic Innovation Fund will focus on: Prevention & Containment - Vaccines, Testing, Personal protection, etc.; Treatment & Healing - Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Remote monitoring, Digital health, etc.; and Continuity & Disruption Mitigation - Remote working, Distance learning, Robotic process automation, Home exercise, Cybersecurity, etc.
The fund will both invest in new startups and select relevant companies already included in OurCrowd’s existing portfolio. OurCrowd’s portfolio already has more than 20 companies actively working to mitigate the coronavirus crisis and its effects, some of which will be candidates for follow-on investment from the Pandemic Investment Fund.
The new fund's first investments include MigVax, an Israeli contender to produce oral coronavirus vaccine, and Sight Diagnostics, rapid, accurate and safe blood test technology in use at hospitals with Covid-19 patients.
The fund’s general partners are Dr. Morris Laster, Dr. Morry Blumenfeld, and David Sokolic .
Dr. Laster said, "Together we must tackle the current pandemic as well as plan for future ones, because this story is just beginning. Entrepreneurs are uniquely skilled to provide fast and effective solutions to some of our greatest challenges. Our new fund will create the bridge between the innovations we need and the far-sighted investors able to provide the resources required to improve our world."
The fund is open to both accredited private investors (minimum $50,000) and institutional investors (minimum $1,000,000).
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 2, 2020
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