Nearly $1.5 billion has been raised since the start of the year, 20% below last year's record fund raising.
Israeli startups have raised over $450 million in the second quarter. At the midpoint of the second quarter, and with the Passover and the Independence Day festivals reducing the number of business days over the past six weeks, it looks as though Israeli startups are on course to raise about $1 billion in the second quarter, similar to the $1.03 billion raised in the first quarter, according to IVC-ZAG. Although a handsome amount, this is 20% below 2016's record $4.8 billion raised by startups - about $1.2 billion per quarter.
Israeli startups have really got into their stride over the past few days with some $83 million raised this week - microbiome therapeutics company BiomX raises $24 million, resort suite booking company Sweet Inn raises $22 million, e-commerce search company Twiggle raised $15 million, smart car cyber security company Karamba raised $12 million, and enterprise AI company Mintigo raised $10 million.
Israeli startup raising dips in Q1 2017
Major financing rounds in April included smart car chip developer Valens, which raised $60 million, biomed companies SteadyMed Therapeutics and Aspect Imaging, which raised $30 million each, smart car communication company Otonomo, which raised $25 million, SaaS company DaPulse, which raised $25 million, online travel company Fornova, which raised $17 million and optical chip developer ColorChip, which raised $17 million.
Other major financing rounds closed in May include insurtech company Next Insurance, which raised $29 million, bone regeneration company CartiHeal, which raised $18.3 million, and smart wheel company Softwheel, which raised $10 million.