Israeli VC investments are picking up pace and have reached a record level since the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008. According to the MoneyTree Report produced by PWC Israel, Venture-backed companies raised $342 million in the first quarter of 2011, a dramatic 102% increase from the $170 million raised in the equivalent period in the previous year.
VC Cafe brings you a the highlights of the report in bitesize nuggets:
- The average investment per company in the quarter under review was $4.1 million, from $3.5 million in the preceding quarter and $2.4 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.
- The Internet sector saw a massive increase in deals, with an investment $75 million in Q1 2011, the highest level ever reported
- Deals are getting bigger. This quarter, $179 million were invested in 9 deals of over $10M, compared with $120.5 million in 6 deals the previous year
- A staggering 43% of Israeli VC funds made no investment in Q1 2011. Slight improvement from the 46% of “no action” VC funds in the last two quarters.
- Annual investment levels of Venture Capital Funds (in millions of dollars) are on the way UP
- Average investment per company (in millions of dollars) is recovering, which means healthier valuations for Israeli startups
- Don’t hate on government grants – Thirty six companies, representing 43% of all companies raising VC capital in the first quarter of 2011, are supported by the Office of the Israel Chief Scientist. Some $146 million of total investment funds went to these companies.
- A total of 58 companies, representing 70% of companies raising VC capital in the first quarter of 2011, are registered in Israel. These companies raised $186 million or 54% of total investment. The remaining companies are mostly incorporated in the US.
- Seed/Startup stage investments have declined, and are still a challenging investment gap to solve. 8 startups raised $15 million during the first quarter of 2011, representing 4% of total investments this quarter. This compares to 9 companies raising $8.5 million last quarter and 12 companies raising $16.7 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.
To download a copy of the MoneyTree report, use this link.
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