JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli private high-tech companies raised $2.5 billion in the second quarter of 2020, overcoming the coronavirus pandemic with a rise from $2.2 billion a year ago, the Israel Venture Capital Research Center and ZAG law firm said on Wednesday.
In the first half of the year, fundraising reached $5.25 billion. In all of 2019, high-tech companies raised $8.3 billion in 2019, up 30% from 2018.
“Israeli growth stage companies have a strong support from the global community of investors, even though the company valuations are driven down due to the weakened economies globally,” said Marianna Shapira, IVC research director.
She noted that after a strong first year, the second half of 2020 “might yet demonstrate a notable slowdown in financial activity and capital raising efforts of Israeli high-tech companies in general, and especially in early round financing, as observed in the first quarter of 2020.”
Of the 170 deals in the second quarter, 90 were in early stage rounds.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Tova Cohen)
