Startup Fund valued at NIS 500 million a year
will open for submission on March 4th, 2024!
The Startup fund aims to assist in the establishment and funding of early-stage deep-tech companies at various development stages, from ideation to growth, in sync with the market. The fund will focus on early-stage development in areas with extensive R&D, presenting a high level of risk with challenges related to private capital availability. The new fund will involve the Innovation Authority in all investment rounds, from pre-seed through seed to Series A, with joint investment alongside venture capital firms or private investors, aiming to reduce risk for investors and encourage investment realization. Companies can apply for funding to the Startup Fund with or without a signed investment agreement. Companies approved without an investment agreement will have a limited time frame after the Innovation Authority’s funding approval to raise the additional required funding in the private market.
The goal is to provide robust funding suitable for the company’s development stages, enabling companies to reach the next funding milestone.
The Fund includes three main investment programs:
Pre-Seed Program
This program is desined to address Israeli startup companies in their Pre-Seed stage, startups developing breakthrough, R&D-intensive technologies, high-risk, deep technologies and facing inherent challenges.
Seed Program
This program addresses Israeli startup companies in their Seed stage, developing R&D-intensive technologies, facing inherent high-risk challenges. It’s funding is designed to enable them to reach a proof of concept, to continue and build a robust prototype as well as conduct a pilot to test their product.
Round A Program
This program is addressing Israeli startup companies in their round A investment stage, developing R&D-intensive technologies looking to complete their product’s development, promote it commercially, and build internal capabilities and infrastructure for future scale-up and growth.
*** Companies meeting the conditions of a preferred company (where at least 33% of the shares are held by entrepreneurs from underrepresented populations in high-tech, such as Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox, and Women, or whose activity is in Israel’s periphery) will receive an additional 10% on the grant.