The report of the technology incubator program: in the first half of 2007, 220 million dollars were raised by incubator companies, but at the same time there is again a fear of budget cuts in the incubator program
In the first half of 2007, 115 incubator companies raised a total of 220 million dollars from foreign and local private investors. One company raised 80 million dollars and it is Ramon Medical, which was purchased for this amount by Boston Scientific.
37 companies (including Rimon Medical) raised a million dollars or more according to the following breakdown: 3 companies raised between 10-20 million dollars, 4 companies raised between 5-10 million dollars and 29 companies raised between 1-5 million dollars. The average fundraising reached 1.3 million dollars for the Hamma company.
Renee Pridor, director of the incubator program, states that in the first half of 2007, 25 companies grew out of the incubators, 19 of which raised a total amount of over 19 million dollars (average fundraising of 76 million dollars per company). Fridor emphasizes that a recruitment rate of XNUMX% is a very high recruitment rate that proves the success of these projects and the vitality of the program without which the ideas behind these projects would not have had the opportunity to prove themselves and you would disappear. It must be understood, Pridor explains, that innovative technological ideas treated in incubators are ones that private money does not invest in at that stage.
Recruitment by activity areas:The field of life sciences concentrated the bulk of the capital raising, when 39 medical device companies, graduates of Hamma, raised 132 million dollars and 14 biotechnology companies raised over 19 million dollars. Pridor explains that it can be seen that even if you don't include the purchase of Rimon Medical by Boston Scientific, this is a very impressive recruitment volume.
The "hot" field is the environmental quality field that is located in second place - 11 companies raised over 20 million dollars. The electronics field occupies the third place - 9 companies raised over 17 million dollars, and in fourth place is the communications field with 12 million dollars raised by 12 incubator companies.
As part of the first fundraising round (referring to the first fundraising at the end of the incubator period), the software field is in first place, when 16 software companies raised over 7 million dollars. Other prominent areas of capital raising within the first fundraising round are the life sciences fields - 16 medical device companies raised about 6.5 million dollars and 5 biotechnology companies raised almost 6 million dollars.
Special mention should be made of the field of environmental quality. 3 companies raised over 5 million dollars in the first round; A company in the field of agriculture raised 3 million dollars, a company in the field of energy raised 1.2 million dollars and a company in the field of water technologies raised over 800 thousand dollars.
Although there are not many projects in these fields, their number is expected to increase and the fact that companies in the field manage to raise significant sums of money will surely only strengthen this trend.
The chief scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer, points out that according to the growing trend of investments in high-tech companies in Israel as reflected in the two most recent surveys by the Association of Large Venture Capital Funds and the accounting firm PWC, the scope of investments in mature incubator companies is very impressive. This is how the greenhouse program plays an important part in the investment boom in the State of Israel. Increasing the chief scientist's budget and the greenhouse budget will increase the export and employment potential in the country.
Rena Pridor explains that the existing incubator budget endangers the ability of the incubators to handle and nurture the existing innovative ideas, because with the amount of the given budget it is not possible to receive more than two new projects in the incubator per year.
The scope of activity of only two new projects in the greenhouse per year, calls into question the viability for the owners of the greenhouses to invest in the greenhouses, and thus the impressive achievement of the privatization of the greenhouses in introducing serious investment factors to the activity in the pre-lime stage within the greenhouses, will be damaged. The result could be investors leaving the system and serious damage will be caused to Israel's highly innovative technology industry.
It must be emphasized that venture capital funds and other investors, if they do not provide them with investment opportunities, have no value - and since the incubator program is one of the most important providers of opportunities for them, damage to the program will ultimately harm economic growth in Israel.
