Israel jumps on the crowdfunding platform wagon
Israel's answer to Kickstarter has announced that it has secured over $12 million in funding for the platform and companies involved in the project.
OurCrowd, Israel's take on the crowdfunding phenomenon, says that its first round of startup funding from investors has been a success. Closing $5.5 million in Series A funding, the equity crowdfunding platform is a little less like public efforts hosted on IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, and more a springboard for early-stage firms to secure investment from different sources, as well as OurCrowd itself.
The organization has been established to try and further boost Israel's efforts as a venture capital hub, as well as an investment opportunity for foreign firms.
OurCrowd Founder and CEO, Jon Medved, said:
"We are focused on linking global accredited investors with Israel’s dynamic and exciting Start-up Nation scene, which is generating investment opportunities unlike any I have seen in the past."
Jon Medved, the CEO of OurCrowd was the previous co-founder and CEO of Vringo and Israel Seed Partners, one of Israel's largest venture capital groups with over $260M under management. He is joined by ten investors in Israel.
Deals completed on the crowdfunding website include Parko, an Israeli "social parking" solution, website protection firm Fireblade, and a freight forwarding automaton venture from Zvi Schreiber. Six in total have been finalized.
OurCrowd investors are required to invest a minimum of $10,000 per deal when investing in startups. Deals are kept confidential until they are finalized.
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- Upstart | Yaron Galai, Outbrain
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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com