‘Deal of the Century’ Negotiator Jason Greenblatt Closes OurCrowd Global Investor Summit as Venture Deals of the Next Decade Take Center Stage
Prof. Ruth Arnon receives lifetime achievement award at OurCrowd Global Investor Summit, Feb 13 in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, Feb. 13, 2020 – Top investors, startup entrepreneurs, innovation executives and venture capitalists from around the world converged on Jerusalem today for the 2020 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit. More than 23,000 people from more than 183 countries registered to participate in what has become the largest business event in Israel and the largest investor event in the Middle East.
OurCrowd, the leading global investment platform and Israel’s most active venture investor, confirmed it had received more than $500 million in funding commitments for startup investment in 2019.
“We made history today in Jerusalem,” said OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved. “We are proud that this huge crowd of investors, multinationals, VCs and entrepreneurs gathered and focused tremendous energies on building a global impact investment ecosystem. This Summit will create waves that will reach out from here in the coming months and years as we address the serious challenges facing humanity and the planet.”
Former Assistant to the President of the United States, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt addressed a packed closing session with a message of hope that economic cooperation can bring Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East together.
“Let us create a Middle East 2.0, whose might and energy can power the region, and perhaps the world, to a much brighter future,” Greenblatt said. “Let us continue building relationships between Israel and its neighbors in the region, to work on what once seemed impossible, building together an economic bridge of peace.”
Prof. Ruth Arnon, the 86-year-old world-renowned Weizmann Institute immunologist and co-developer of the anti-MS drug Copaxone, accepted the 2020 OurCrowd Maimonides Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science, Leadership and Menschlichkeit. Prof. Arnon, a former President of the Israel Academy of Sciences, continues to work on cutting-edge developments in the fields of immunology and biology and is currently developing a new universal flu vaccine amid worldwide outbreaks.
In addition to her many roles at the Weizmann Institute, she has served as President of the European Federation of Immunological Societies, Secretary-General of the International Union of Immunological Societies, and served on the Steering Committee of the WHO Task Force on Immunological Methods for Fertility Control. Professor Arnon has been a visiting scientist at The Rockefeller Institute, New York; University of Washington, Seattle; University of California, Los Angeles; Pasteur Institute, Paris; Walter and Elisa Hall Institute, Melbourne; Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London; Curie Institute, Paris and has been a Fogarty Scholar at the NIH, USA.
“OurCrowd is proud to grant the Maimonides Award to Prof. Arnon,” Medved said. “Ruth is a shining light in her lifetime of achievements and ongoing commitment to making the world a better place. She has stood, and continues to stand, on the frontline against some of the most cruel diseases impacting people around the world. Countless people owe her their lives and their quality of life to her hard work and innovation, and we are privileged to pay tribute to her at this year’s Summit.”
Taking center stage at the summit were the latest innovations in the fields of automotive technologies, medical technologies, cyber security and AI technologies, with key speakers including Dave Mosley, CEO, Seagate Technology, Ferid Murad, Nobel Laureate in medicine, Jun Sawada, President & CEO of NTT Holdings, Ronald Kruszewski, Chairman & CEO of Stifel Financial Corporation and OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved.
Adopting the theme of “Startups Going Beyond,” the Summit paid special attention this year to exploring the key trends likely to shape the coming decade.
CEO Jon Medved said, “As we begin this new decade, and look back at the last ten years, there are clear patterns that emerge. The rise and dominance of Artificial Intelligence, the revolution around self-driving cars, the breakthroughs in digital health, and the very urgent need to stay ahead of the game in cybersecurity, can help us plot where there is a need for more investment and where there are opportunities for new ideas. We have brought together – for yet another record breaking year – tens of thousands of people from nearly every country on earth, to invest in the goal of making the world a better, safer, and healthier place in the coming decade.”
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About OurCrowd:
OurCrowd is a global venture investing platform that empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies. The most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its capital, and provides its global network with unparalleled access to co-invest and contribute connections, talent and deal flow. OurCrowd builds value for its portfolio companies throughout their lifecycles, providing mentorship, recruiting industry advisors, navigating follow-on rounds and creating growth opportunities through its network of multinational partnerships. With $1.4 billion of committed funding, and investments in 200 portfolio companies and 20 venture funds, OurCrowd offers access to its membership of 41,000 individual accredited and institutional investors, family offices, and venture capital partners from over 183 countries to invest alongside, at the same terms. OurCrowd’s portfolio is diversified across sectors and stages, ranging from seed and series A through late stage and pre-IPO firms. Since its founding in 2013, OurCrowd portfolio companies have been acquired by some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Uber, Canon, Oracle, Nike, and Intel. To register and get involved, visit www.ourcrowd.com.
Press contact: Leah Stern, OurCrowd Dir. of Communications / leah@ourcrowd.com / +44 747 019 6826 / Estee Yaari, OurCrowd Press Office / estee.yaari@ourcrowd.com / +972 50-200-7072
For Press Materials: https://blog.ourcrowd.net/rutharnon/
