Israel's hi-tech ecosystem is benefitting from a perfect storm of factors, including the participation of a number of international investment funds, a very mature tech sector with many second- or third-time founders, the rise of SPACs as a tool to do an IPO quickly, high capital market values worldwide, a mature market for secondary shares, and other factors. It helps that many of the kinds of technology fields that Israel excels at- cybersecurity, biotech, and automation, among others- are exactly the fields that have come into the forefront during the coronavirus pandemic.
This week, Forter, an e-commerce fraud prevention company, raised $300 million this week in one of the largest funding rounds for an Israeli start-up ever. The round nearly tripled the eight-year old company's valuation to $3 billion, just six months after it raised $125 million. The Tel Aviv-based company said it is now the most valuable privately-held company ever in the fraud prevention industry.
Cloud security company Wiz reportedly raised $120 million in a financing round led by Salesforce. and Blackstone The company, which was founded just last year, raised $100 million last December and $130 million in March at a $1.7 billion valuation, is believed to have reached 'unicorn' status faster than any company ever. The company's founders achieved superstar status in the hi-tech sector when they sold their previous cybersecurity company, Adollam, for $320 million to Microsoft in 2015.
Salt Security, which makes API security solutions, raised $70 million in series C funding at an undisclosed valuation, its third funding round in less than a year. The Tel Aviv-based company, which was founded in 2015, has raised $120 million since last June.
Snappy, a platform aimed at revolutionizing online gifting, raised $70 million. The company, whose technology allows recipients to choose the gift they love before it’s delivered, is based in New York, but was founded in Tel Aviv and maintains its R&D center there.
Other deals announced this week include $50 million round for neurovascular device maker Rapid Medical; $47 million for video intelligence company AnyClip; $23 million for program debugging software maker Lightrun; $20 million for Crypto risk monitoring and market surveillance company Solidus Labs; $17.5 million for digital insurance provider Parametrix Insurance; $17.5 million for Yokneam-based space computing solutions company Ramon.Space; $12 million for sales prospecting technology company RightBound; and $6.6 million for Laguna Health, which makes technology to assist with post-hospital recovery.
Meanwhile, several Israeli tech companies filed for IPOs in Israel and New York via SPAC acquisitions. Drugmaker NeuroRx said it was approved for listing on the Nasdaq at a $1.5 billion valuation, chipmaker Valens Semiconductor will list on the Nasdaq at a $1.16 billion expected valuation; and medical robotics company Memic Innovative Surgery is reported to be on the verge of a $1 billion IPO as well.