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This shift removed the long-standing bias to invest in startups that are physically close to where investors are based and put entrepreneurs who are located at great distances from investors on equal footing with those based in the same city or region.Īnother cause was the large number of new unicorns created in Israel during the year. While remote investing was not immediately accepted by all, the largest investors adjusted to the situation and changed their practices fairly quickly due to the large amounts they had to invest. One of the effects of COVID-19 was that investors were unable to meet potential founders in person. Their increased investment activity, especially in 2021, has several causes. The larger the round size, the more likely at least one of these 10 investors participated. These investors have increased their activities in Israel substantially since 2018, especially in larger rounds, participating in 69% of all mega-rounds (rounds of above $100 million) during the first half of 2021 vs 25% in 2018. In a separate research piece, we identified 10 of the largest global investors 1 that have been most active in Israel among foreign investors since 2015. By the middle of 2021, they had $238B in dry powder, up from $123B at the end of 2019, with 61% of it in the hands of the largest 50 global managers.Ģ021 Tech Trends – A Unicorn Assembly Line The increasing Influence of 10 Global Investors This dominance can be understood in the context of the unprecedented amounts that VCs have raised for their own funds in recent years. Most dominant investors in Israeli Tech Investor Name This includes additional, very large investors such as Sequoia, Lightspeed, and Accel. If we adjust these numbers for the size of the rounds that they invested in, the dominance of foreign investors becomes even clearer, as they occupy the top eight slots.
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