Tel Aviv University Launches New Tech Investment Fund

The fund will focus on locating exceptional Israeli initiatives in early stages of development and help build them up to the point of exit into the international market.

By MICHAEL ZEFF
Updated: NOVEMBER 23, 2016 16:25
Tel Aviv University campus (photo credit: PR)
Tel Aviv University campus
(photo credit: PR)
Tel Aviv University’s technology transfer company, Ramot, launched a new Internet of Things (IoT) investment fund on Monday in partnership with five international tech giants. According to Ramot, the fund will focus on locating exceptional Israeli initiatives in early stages of development (pre-seeding, seeding), and help build them up to the point of exit into the international market.
The fund, i3 Equity Partners, launched with an initial investment of $20 million in partnership with General Electric Ventures, HNA EcoTech, Microsoft, Qualcomm Ventures, Tata Group and Israel’s largest venture- capital group, Pitango.
“This unique and first of its kind partnership proves the level of faith that multinational companies have in the Israeli entrepreneur and his ability to invent the next best thing,” i3 Equity Partners chairman Shlomo Nimrodi told The Jerusalem Post. “Our fund will decrease failure rates common in new start-ups and will connect them immediately to interested and suitable IoT giants.”
IoT is the technology of interconnected devices, or “smart” devices. The IoT field goes beyond everyday products such as cellphones and “smart” household appliances to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders, automobiles with builtin sensors, DNA analysis devices and more.
According to Machina Research’s annual report on the global growth of the IoT industry, the total IoT revenue in 2015 was marked at $750 billion and is expected to reach $3 trillion in 2025.