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THE FAST-TRACK ON THE VENTURE CAPITAL
SUPERHIGHWAY
Israel is a magnet for venture capital funds from all corners of the globe. Consistently, in the
years since the 2008 financial crisis, Israeli startups have raised billions of dollars in venture
capital funds each year - not to mention the colossal mergers and acquisitions of Israeli
high-tech companies that cause some to call Israel “The Exit Nation”. Israel currently has
about 70 active venture capital funds, 14 of which are international venture capital funds
from China, India, Australia, Europe and the United States.
The venture capital industry took off in Israel with the establishment of ten government-
funded venture capital firms in a project called “Yozma,” Hebrew for “Initiative”. Founded
in 1993 with a $100 million fund, Yozma offered tax incentives for foreign venture capital
investments in Israel, promising to double any investments with government funds. The
initiative lived up to its name as it saw venture capital investment in Israeli companies rise
60 fold, from $58 million to $3.3 billion, between 1991-2000.
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DOV MORAN
When you talk about portable storage, Dov Moran is the name you
want to know. The founder of M-Systems, Moran is responsible for introducing
a new age in flash data storage, namely the USB Flash Drive. Over a period
of 18 years, Moran saw M-Systems revenue grow to $1 billion and in 2006, the
company was acquired by SanDisk Corp. for $1.6 billion, one of the largest
exits in Israel’s history. Moran is also the brains behind modu, a failed modular
telephone concept that later saw success when it became the basis for Google’s
Project Ara. Moran is a living example that learning to embrace failure is the
mark of any noteworthy entrepreneur.