Bethel Finance news:
140 Israeli start-ups raised $479 million from Israeli and foreign venture capital funds in the first quarter of 2011, the highest quarterly amount more than two years, the Israel Venture Capital Association (IVC) and KPMG Somehk Chaikin reported today. The amount raised was 39% more than the $344 million raised by 100 companies in the preceding quarter, and 105% more than the $234 million raised by 91 companies in the corresponding quarter of 2010, which was the weakest quarter in five years.
The average company financing round was $3.42 million in the first quarter, down slightly from the $3.44 million average in the preceding quarter, but well above $2.57 million average in the corresponding quarter. 87 companies raised more than $1 million each, of which 20 raised $5-10 million, 11 raised $10-20 million, three raised more than $20 million.
Israeli venture capital funds invested $137 million in Israeli companies in the first quarter, the highest quarterly amount in the last two years, and 47% more than invested in the preceding quarter, and 76% more than in the corresponding quarter. However, the proportion of capital invested by Israeli venture capital funds fell to 28% in the first quarter from 33% in the corresponding quarter.
IVC Research Center CEO Koby Simana, CEO of said, “The first quarter of 2011 brought a surprisingly large increase in capital raised by Israeli high-tech companies. When we look at the data, we see that the share that came from Israeli venture capital funds held at around 30%, and the majority of the increase is traced to financing rounds - totaling $157 million - in which Israeli VC funds did not participate, three times the amount in the previous quarter. The good news for Israel's high-tech industry is that it was able to meet its financing needs in large part via foreign investors, as well as non-VC Israeli investors."
First investments by Israeli venture capital funds accounted for 23% of their total dollar investments in the first quarter, down from 24% in the corresponding quarter. The average first investment was $1.88 million, and the average follow-on investment was $1.15 million.
Israeli venture capital funds also invested $56 million in foreign companies in the first quarter, the highest quarterly amount in the past decade, and 18 times the $3 million invested in foreign companies in the corresponding quarter.
Life sciences companies raised $127 million in the first quarter, or 27% of total capital raised. Internet companies were in second place, raising $86 million (18%), software companies were in third place, raising $79 million (16%), followed semiconductor companies (12% of total capital raised), communications (11%), and cleantech (8%).
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