Finistere
Ventures, a global agrifood investment leader, OurCrowd,
Israel’s most active venture investor, Tnuva,
Israel’s food manufacturer, and Tempo
Beverages, the leading Israeli beverage company, today announce that
their consortium has won the tender to operate the FoodTech incubator
from the Israel Innovation authority. The incubator named “Sparks” will
be located in Kiryat Shemona in the north of Israel and will invest in
advanced technology startups that will drive the food industry, which is
the world’s largest market, estimated to be in excess of $12 Trillion
dollars.
Israel Minister of the Economy Eli Cohen, in a meeting in his offices
with the consortium leaders said, “After the Israeli success in cyber,
autonomous cars and medical devices we are now targeting FoodTech as the
next big thing. This is an important milestone in establishing a full
FoodTech ecosystem in Israel’s north.”
Finistere Ventures Co-Founder and Partner Spencer Maughan said,
“Finistere has always believed in connecting global technology
ecosystems to Silicon Valley capital and we have had a long-standing
commitment to the Israeli startup scene.”
OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said, “FoodTech and AgTech Innovation is at an
all-time high and we are excited to be part of this initiative to
establish Israel as a world leader in the FoodTech arena. Our group
represents the best of Israel’s food industry and leading venture
capital groups from Israel and around the world.”
Tnuva CEO Eyal Malis said, “The real winner in this tender is Israel’s
north and Kiryat Shemona, where we are going to fund over 40 new
FoodTech companies that will create hundreds of new quality jobs.
Together with our partners, we are going to invest significant resources
and knowledge, making this new incubator a massive success.”
Tempo Chairman and CEO, Jacques Beer said, “Our group represents deep
technology and commitment to FoodTech, with the strong backing of global
and Israeli leaders. Joining Tempo and Tnuva are world giants such as
Bright Food, PepsiCo, Heineken, Bayer, Nutrien and more.”
Together Finistere, OurCrowd, Tnuva, and Tempo, will actively encourage,
support and invest in Israeli entrepreneurs building new companies to
meet evolving consumer demands and transform the current food chain –
from alternative proteins and nutritional value improvements, to
functional ingredients and supply chain efficiency. Thanks to the
partners’ extensive industry network, entrepreneurs will also be able to
gain direct access to leading global food and beverage giants.
The consortium brings together two leading venture investors: Finistere
and OurCrowd. OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture investor, has $1B
in commitments and has made investments in 170 companies and funds,
including FoodTech portfolio company Beyond Meat – ((NASDAQ:BYND),
which recently completed 2019’s most successful IPO and is recently
trading at a value of close to $10 billion). Finistere Ventures is a
global $150 million fund dedicated to investments in agrifood
technologies and supported by investors such as AVAC, Bayer, Ireland’s
Strategic Investment Fund, Nutrien, Grain Corporation, and Unigrains.
Entrepreneurs will gain access to OurCrowd’s extensive Israeli startup
power including a community of 30,000 registered investors from over 180
countries and Finistere’s global network of the leading agrifood
investors, accelerators/incubators, and public research institutions. In
fact, the two firms already work together in partnership with U.S.-based
Radicle Growth Fund, which recently announced its intention to make seed
investments in Israeli FoodTech and AgTech companies as well.
As the leading Israeli food and beverage companies, Tnuva and Tempo have
a long history of promoting FoodTech innovation, working with startups
and academic institutions. With extensive operations in Northern Israel,
they have a stronghold on the local food industry and changing
consumer/sustainability needs, as well as a rich ecosystem of farmers,
employees and industry contacts to leverage for emerging entrepreneurs.
With tremendous global partners like Bright Food, Heineken Enterprises,
Soda Stream, and more, Tempo and Tnuva hope to create open global
innovation forums through the consortium.
With each partner offering unique experience, knowledge and resources,
the consortium will give entrepreneurs guidance across a broad range of
activities, including technology development and due diligence, team
building, business development, seed and Series A investment strategies,
and the production and marketing of food.
END
About Finistere Ventures: Finistere Ventures is a leading global
agricultural technology and life sciences venture capital investor with
offices in Palo Alto, San Diego, Ireland and Israel. Its team has
developed and invested in some of the most successful AgTech companies
of the last 20 years—building and backing companies worth more than $5
billion. Visit Finistere.com.
For a detailed analysis of early stage ag and FoodTech funding activity
and specific trends in Israel, please review Finistere’s “2018
Early-Stage Agtech Report.”
About OurCrowd: OurCrowd is the leading global equity
crowdfunding platform for accredited investors. Managed by a team of
seasoned investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon
Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its own capital,
and invites its accredited membership of investors and institutional
partners to invest alongside in these opportunities. OurCrowd provides
support to its portfolio companies, assigns industry experts as mentors,
and creates growth opportunities through its network of strategic
multinational partnerships. The OurCrowd community consists of almost
30,000 registered investors from over 180 countries. Rated “the most
active venture investor in Israel” by Pitchbook, OurCrowd has $1B in
commitments and has made investments in 170 companies and funds.
OurCrowd already has 34 exits to date. OurCrowd exits include: Beyond
Meat’s IPO (NASDAQ:BYND);
JUMP Bikes sold to Uber, Briefcam sold to Canon, Argus sold to
Continental, Crosswise sold to Oracle, and Replay sold to Intel. To join
OurCrowd as an accredited investor, visit www.ourcrowd.com.
About Tnuva
Tnuva Group is Israel’s biggest food
conglomerate, 1.7B $ revenue, holding ~16% market share of the total F&B
Israeli market. Operating from farm to fork, through 26 production and
operational sites country wide, Tnuva holds an important role in
Israel’s economy and agriculture, as over 80% of its raw materials are
locally originated. Tnuva is market leader of the Israeli dairy market
as well as various frozen goods categories.
About Tempo Beverages
Tempo, the longest established
beverage company in Israel, is the market leader in alcoholic beverages
(Beer, wine and spirits) and the co-leader of the non-alcoholic
beverages market (With leadership position in premium water, energy
drinks and malt beverages). Tempo has powerful long-lasting alliances
with large global business partners such as PepsiCo, Heineken, Nestle
Waters, Pernod Ricard, San Benedetto, XL Energy and others. The company
employs a workforce of just over 1,200 employees and supplies its
products directly to about 11,000 customers nationally. Tempo’s annual
turnover is around € 350 Million.
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For Press Materials: https://blog.ourcrowd.com/tenderwin/
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