JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OurCrowd, the global crowdfunding venture investing platform and Israel’s leading venture investor, announced today that Jason Greenblatt, former Assistant to the President of the United States, and Special Representative for International Negotiations, will join OurCrowd as a partner with responsibility for building ties with the Middle East region.
“I am delighted to join OurCrowd and help bring its mission of democratizing venture investing to the broader Middle East, helping startups to solve urgent problems in medical, sustainable and cyber technology and linking them to the investors they need to bring their innovative ideas to reality,” Greenblatt said.
Greenblatt, architect of President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, was a keynote speaker at the 2020 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit in February, delivering a message of hope that economic cooperation can bring Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East together.
“I have spent time recently addressing a problem that many people believed was impossible. There are those who look at an impossible problem and simply can’t see past it. And then there are those, like OurCrowd, its investors and its portfolio companies, who look at a problem and see not an impossibility but an opportunity that can be addressed with the application of resources, talent, ingenuity and dedication,” Greenblatt said.
“I recall visiting Ramallah in 2015, just after Intel acquired Mobileye for $15 billion. I will never forget the young Palestinian tech entrepreneur who said to me: ‘Please Jason, help us Palestinians learn to build and sell our own Mobileyes.’ The miracle of Israel’s startup nation, the disproportionate amount of disruptive technologies and wealth creation events that come out of Israel, is a model for other countries to follow. Israel is a light for the entire region, allowing this type of innovative thinking to spread for the benefit of all,” Greenblatt said.
“As a partner at OurCrowd, I will 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. By working together on investments, innovation and technology, Israel and its neighbors can together provide a new potent energy to the region. Together with OurCrowd, I am committed to helping create a Middle East 2.0, whose might and energy can power the region, and the world, to a much brighter future,” Greenblatt said.
“My aim is to improve lives and help people thrive throughout the Middle East, to connect this region and unlock its incredible potential. Each country of this region can be a part of this movement. Each society – Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian, Egyptian, Saudi, Emirati, Qatari, Omani, Bahraini, Kuwaiti and more – can be a part of this movement. Together, we can help to change this region and build a new future today, for all the peoples of the Middle East,” Greenblatt said.
“I am looking forward to embarking on this challenging and exciting journey with Jon Medved and the rest of the talented team at OurCrowd,” Greenblatt said.
OurCrowd has long been working behind the scenes to forge ties between Israel’s startup ecosystem and its Middle East neighbours – despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. February’s OurCrowd Summit in Jerusalem included participants registered from every nation in the Arab League.
In January, OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved became the first Israeli venture investor to address a public business gathering in Abu Dhabi when he spoke at the SALT conference at Emirates Palace.
OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved said: “We are delighted to welcome Jason Greenblatt to the OurCrowd team. He is not only a visionary who is pointing the way to a brighter future for the entire region, but he is someone who makes things happen. Together with Jason we expect to open up a new world of opportunities for our growing portfolio of 200+ companies and 20 funds. This is going to be an incredible journey together and we look forward to making formerly impossible dreams of regional economic and technology cooperation come true.”
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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.