The startup nation may be on target to raise a record breaking year in tech funding.
The first three quarters of 2015 have been a huge achievement for Israel, which has seen $3.8 billion in mergers and acquisitions according to a survey by Israeli financial newspaper Globes. The survey differentiates between biotech companies and other startups, though combined, that $3.8 billion figure so far this year is $500 million more than in all of 2014. The biggest acquisition in biomed was Valtech Cardio for nearly $1 billion to US-based Heartware. For non-medical startups, Annapurna Labs scored $360 million selling itself to Amazon.
The analysis highlights that the grand total over the last 12 years is in the neighborhood of $45 billion worth of cash and stock when looking at value at the time of purchase.
In the public sphere, Lumenis was acquired by a private equity fund for $510 million. This is the largest sale in real money terms, as Valtech Cardio was sold mostly for stock. Management software company ClickSoftware went for $438 million.
The report also examined venture funding, noting that while 2015’s $2.4 billion from American investors is on the higher end, it doesn’t match last year’s $3.9 billion in US money. Success for Israeli IPOs has been mixed though, with the biggest yields coming from Inspire MD at 235% since March, while SteadyMed Therapeutics has dropped 65% since going public despite raising $40 million on the first day of trading. Collision avoidance company Mobileye, which had raised $822 million before its IPO, is up 18% since going public in March.
As the year progresses, Israel is set for a better than ever year of tech funding as the innovation ecosystem thrives and investors and corporates look to Israel.
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