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Drones, AI and Next-Generation Mobility Take Center Stage at OurCrowd Global Investor Summit
Major announcements made by startups working with Uber and Google
Jerusalem, Feb. 1, 2018- OurCrowd, a leading global equity crowdfunding platform, concluded its largest annual investor conference, showcasing the very latest in Mobility Tech, Drones, Robotics, AI and Medtech. Standout news included Jump Bike’s collaboration with Uber, BrainQ’s latest progress on repairing spinal cord injuries, and OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved announcing that the company has raised $650 million and expects to break the $1 billion mark this year. Other news highlights included the launch of the OurCrowd ADvantage Sports Tech fund, and recent authorization from the Israel Tax Authority, allowing private individuals investing in the OurCrowd platform to benefit from tax deductions on their investments.
The Summit attracted 10,000 registered attendees in person and online from over 90 countries, including 1,000 startups, 500 multinational firms, and 500 venture capitalists. The largest investor event ever in the region and the biggest equity crowdfunding event in the world, the Summit provided a forum for members of the tech startup ecosystem to meet, interact, learn and grow.
CEO of OurCrowd Jon Medved said, “It’s gratifying to see so much interest in Israel’s booming tech scene. The variety of venture capitalists, multinationals, startup CEOs, and investors that came together in Israel to be in one place, creating real business deals, is astounding.”
Content ranged from a forum on the ethics of tech and emerging 2018 tech trends, to a blockchain debate and a digital disruption case study. Almost 200 speakers ran the gamut from Sir Ronald Cohen “father of social investment,” and Tsutomu Wakitani, Head of Honda Robotics to Daniel Schreiber, CEO of Lemonade Inc., which is disrupting the insurance industry, and Rajan Luthra, Head of Special Projects at Reliance Industries of India.
Other highlights included:
- Honda Xcelerator-sponsored Robotics Alley: where seven startups demonstrated their devices and designs that push the edges of invention. Tsutomu Wakitani, Chief Operating Officer of Honda R&D Center-X, provided an exclusive look into Honda’s 3E Robotics Concept.
- Doctor’s Office of the Future: gave visitors a chance to try out the latest MedTech where they got their blood glucose analyzed, they mapped their neural activity, and received a telehealth physical exam — all without a doctor in the room.
- Professional pilots put 100 micro-drones through their paces on a 3D indoor race track.
- A groundbreaking Hackathon that “crowdcreated” a startup from three remarkable technologies supplied by Hebrew University researchers. The Hackathon was the launch of OurCrowd’s Labs/02, Jerusalem’s new startup incubator.
- Intesa Sanpaolo FashionTech Plaza: The latest tech from major fashion brands was showcased on an indoor Italian boulevard built for the day. Following an introduction by Gianluigi Benedetti, the Italian Ambassador to Israel, seven startups had seven minutes each to pitch and demo their devices and designs.
- The “ShukTech,” after party offered participants the opportunity to enjoy local craft beer and hear “war stories” from some of Israel’s most impressive startup CEOs.
Ecosystem participants from across the world enjoyed the opportunity to meet face-to-face and forge personal relationships as past summits have proven this process will lead to closing deals that will be worth millions of dollars for startups and multinationals looking for their next big thing.
“This Summit is like nothing I’ve ever seen, with thousands of CEOs and investors gathered in one place letting sparks fly and forging essential business relationships,” said Wolf Bielas, Managing Partner of Wolfpack Ventures and a Venture Partner at OurCrowd. “It is great to be a part of OurCrowd’s network and see the conference come together with the purpose of sharing knowledge while fueling the business ecosystem.”
“As Singapore’s largest SME bank, UOB has deep experience from its long-standing support of entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs,” said Janet Young, the Head of Group Channels and Digitalization at UOB. “Our partnership with OurCrowd is a natural extension of our interest in nurturing the growth of small businesses, and the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit fosters exactly those types of relationships.”
Notes to Editors
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 opportunities, invests its own capital, and brings companies to its accredited membership of global investors. OurCrowd provides post-investment support to its portfolio companies, assigns industry experts as mentors, and takes board seats. The OurCrowd community consists of almost 25,000 accredited investors from over 112 countries. OurCrowd has raised over $650M and invested in 145 portfolio companies and funds. To join OurCrowd as an accredited investor visit www.ourcrowd.com and click “Join.”
The 2018 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit, Feb. 1, 2018, in Jerusalem, Israel, is the largest equity crowdfunding event in the world, and the largest investor event in the entire Middle East. The event will bring together Corporate partners like GE, Honda, DuPont, Samsung, and more, along with entrepreneurs, global delegations from over 90 countries, industry leaders and members of the press from all over the world. 10,000 are registered to attend. Learn more at summit.ourcrowd.com
For Press Materials: https://blog.ourcrowd.net/summit2018wrap
Press contact: Leah Stern, OurCrowd, Dir. Of Communications / Europe: +44 747 0196826 / US: +1 703 626 4310 / Israel: +972 54 3414861 /E: leah@ourcrowd.com
Estee Yaari / Israel: +972 50 200 7072 / E: estee.yaari@ourcrowd.com
