Fundraising by Israeli startups expected to decline during 2022
A survey of Israeli startup companies shows a significant drop in fundraising.
According to a report by the Tel Aviv-based Greenfield Partners, during the first quarter of 2022, a total of 132 Israeli startup companies in various stages raised $5.95 billion in funding. The figure marks a slight increase compared to the corresponding period in 2021 ($5.90 billion), but a significant drop compared to the previous quarter ($8.88 billion).
The report shows that $2.35 billion through 42 deals was raised during January 2022, $1.27 billion through 38 deals was raised in February and $3.23 billion through 52 deals was raised last month. Most of the deals (69) were valued at less than $25 million while 19 raised more than $100 million each.
During that period, 10 new Israeli companies joined the prestigious club of unicorns (valued at $1 billion or more). They include AI leader BigPanda ($190 million), fintech company Capitolis ($110 million), data warehouse Firebolt ($100 million), cybersecurity company Island ($115 million), cybersecurity company Pentera ($150 million), Placer.ai ($100 million), RapidAPI ($150 million), battery technology startup StoreDot (unknown), gaming startup Tripledot Studios ($116 million) and building tech firm Veev ($400 million).
Israeli tech companies raised a record of $25.4 billion in 2021, according to the Tel Aviv-based Start-Up Nation Central, which has yet to publish statistics for the first quarter of 2022. Estie Rosen, global PR director at Start-Up Nation Central, which promotes Israel's technology ecosystem, told Al-Monitor she is not concerned by the drop during the first quarter. "2022 will not be like 2021 in terms of fundraising, but the Israeli high-tech sector is here to stay," Rosen said, adding she expects "some correction" in the market after the record year.
