JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Labs/02, an early stage fund and incubator located in the heart of Jerusalem, has completed its first full year of operation with investments in some of the most innovative startups in Israel. Being an Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) sponsored incubator, Labs/02 makes seed investments on behalf of OurCrowd, along with Motorola Solutions and Reliance Industries Ltd and has a strategic partnership with Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University.
In its first year of operations, Labs/02 reviewed over 300 investment opportunities in Israel and celebrated its first exit, as ForceNock was acquired by Checkpoint. With six investments in 2018 alone, the fund intends to continue investing in up to eight companies a year.
Moshe Raines, CEO of Labs/02 and serial entrepreneur, said, “We’re proud of what we achieved in our first year, but we’re only getting started. The next step will be scaling the structure that allows us to not just invest in, but helps nurture early stage startups, giving them a significant edge in the market. By leveraging IIA funding and partners such as OurCrowd, Motorola Solutions and Reliance Industries, we invest in the most promising and innovative Israeli startups in multiple high-tech domains.”
Interest in seed investments is declining globally, with VCs taking fewer risks on companies that haven't yet shown substantial traction. Labs/02 is committed to restoring the value of seed funding. The incubator has developed a unique approach to investing in the most cutting-edge and innovative startups that includes a boot-camp-like atmosphere and a dedicated professional team working tirelessly to elevate startups to the next stage of growth.
C2A Security, the first company to enter Labs/02, raised a $6.5M Series A round led by led by strategic investors Maniv Mobility and IVC within 11 months of entering the incubator program. Michael Dick, CEO of C2A, said, “Entering the Labs/02 incubator was the perfect choice for our startup trajectory. Their strategic partnerships, industry ties and experience helped us find the right market fit and allowed us to take a big leap forward, all the way to the next round.”
Other investments in the past year included QuantLR, a company providing a cost-effective quantum encryption solution built on many years of research conducted by Prof. Hagai Eisenberg from Hebrew University, one of the leading experts in the field. QuantLR recently announced a major partnership with PacketLight, a RAD Group company, and is engaged with the Israeli Government in developing Israel’s National Quantum Solution plan.
Other notable recent investments include IXDen, a cyber solution for IoT devices, which has successfully completed a POC with Visa in recent months, and is currently running a POC with Motorola Solutions; and ITsMine, an effective Data Loss Prevention solution offering a new approach to an archaic field, has already entered a pre-Series A round of funding on the OurCrowd platform due to significant traction gained while working with Labs/02.
This announcement was made at the 2019 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit in Jerusalem, the largest technology showcase in Israel with over 170 startups and 15,000 registered attendees.
About OurCrowd: OurCrowd is a global investment platform, bringing venture capital opportunities to accredited investors worldwide. A leader in equity crowdfunding, OurCrowd is managed by a team of seasoned investment professionals and is led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved. OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its own capital, and invites its accredited membership of investors and institutional partners to invest alongside in these opportunities. OurCrowd provides support to its portfolio companies, assigns industry experts as mentors, and creates growth opportunities through its network of strategic multinational partnerships. The OurCrowd community consists of almost 30,000 accredited investors from over 150 countries. OurCrowd has raised $1 billion and invested in 170 portfolio companies and funds. To join OurCrowd as an accredited investor visit www.ourcrowd.com and click “Join.”
About the 2019 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit: The OurCrowd Global Investor Summit, Where the startup world gathers. The 2019 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit, taking place March 7th in Jerusalem, Israel, is one of the premier events in the tech industry, and the largest business event in Israel’s history, with 17,000 expected to register to attend. The Summit provides an interactive, front-row seat to the formerly closed world of startup venture capital, with exclusive exposure to cutting-edge technologies, the entrepreneurs behind them, and the corporate leaders deploying them. Top investors, venture capitalists, corporate partners, entrepreneurs and journalists come from around the world both for Summit day as well as a week of events that include tours of the Israeli ecosystem, corporate meetups, and cultural and historical excursions. Thousands more will participate through livestreaming. Learn more at summit.ourcrowd.com.
About Reliance Industries Limited (RIL): RIL is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated turnover of US$ 66.1 billion, cash profit of US$ 8.6 billion, and net profit of US$ 5.5 billion for the year ended March 31, 2018. RIL is the first private sector company from India to feature in Fortune’s Global 500 list of ‘World’s Largest Corporations’ – currently ranking 148th in terms of revenues and 99th in terms of profits, the most profitable Indian company on the list. The company stands 83rd in the ‘Forbes Global 2000 rankings for 2018’ – the top-most among Indian companies. It ranks amongst LinkedIn’s ‘Top Companies Where India Wants to Work Now’ (2018). RIL’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and 4G digital services.
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