OurCrowd to launch new tech collaboration programme

Equity crowdfunding platform launches new network for matching Israel’s up-and-coming startups with multi-national companies.

Equity crowdfunding platform launches new network for matching Israel’s up-and-coming startups with multi-national companies.

One of Israel’s biggest alternative finance players has launched a new initiative for connecting some of the world’s biggest companies with Israel’s most exciting tech start-ups. 25 global corporations have signed up so far, including Honda, GE, Samsung, Ventures Israel and Intuit.

The project revolves around an online platform called OurNetwork. OurCrowd says that multinationals have a great deal of interest in the latest trends in technology innovation, and yet struggle to keep pace with the constantly growing ecosystem of innovators.

The OurNetwork platform gives corporations “enhanced access” to OurCrowd’s start-up portfolio and deal-flow pipeline. Meanwhile, the start-ups themselves can connect to over 200 multinational corporations, mentors and industry experts, in addition to OurCrowd’s 20,000 strong investor community. The project feels a little like a micro-sized LinkedIn for Israeli tech startups and companies with an interest in working with them.

OurCrowd is one of the largest equity crowdfunding platforms in the world, if not the largest, with over $440m in investments facilitated to date, spread across 120 portfolio companies and funds. The company deals exclusively with accredited investors, unlike most of its counterparts in the UK.

On joining the newly launched OurNetwork, Gonzalo Martinez de Azagra, founder and head of Samsung Ventures Israel, said: “Samsung Ventures Israel has had the pleasure to co-invest in leading companies alongside OurCrowd (Replay Technologies and Corephotonics Ltd) and support OurCrowd’s efforts to connect leading Israeli technology startups with the world’s largest corporations. We look forward to collaborating more actively via OurCrowd’s new OurNetwork platform.”

Meanwhile Jon Medved, OurCrowd’s founder and CEO, said that the platform would enable multinationals to “invest, scout and collaborate with the best start-ups in Israel and around the world”.