Venture capital in Israel refers to the financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies based in Israel. The country's venture capital industry was born in the mid-1980s and has rapidly developed. Israel currently has more than 276 active venture capital funds,[1][2] of which 71 are international VCs with Israeli offices.[1] Israel's venture capital and incubator industry plays an important role in the booming high-tech sector that has been given the nickname "Silicon Wadi", considered second in importance only to its Californian counterpart, the Silicon Valley.[3]
According to the Israeli Research Center, IVC, Israeli tech exits in 2021 (M&As, buyouts, IPOs) totaled $22.2 billion from 238 deals. Excluding deals over $5 billion, 2021 capital saw almost 50% from IPOs, while the number of M&As did not fall short compared to previous years.
According to a report from Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), the three largest earning sectors in Israel were Enterprise IT & Data Infrastructure (which raised just under $6b), Cybersecurity-dominated Security Technologies ($5.9b), and Fintech ($4.2b).[4]
According to IVC, In 2021, venture capital investment in Israel stood at $25.6 billion – a leap of almost 150% from 2020.[2]