SoftBank Vision Fund 2 Takes Stake in OurCrowd

OurCrowd raises $25m to further democratize access to Venture Capital
Both parties enter strategic cooperation agreement to source investment opportunities

JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture platform¹, today announced that SoftBank Vision Fund 2, will make a $25 million convertible equity investment into the firm. Proceeds of the round will go toward the expansion of the OurCrowd platform, building its investor base and accelerating the identification of high-potential, tech-enabled private companies.

With 140,000 accredited investors from more than 195 countries, OurCrowd is a leading platform providing investors with access to quality venture capital investment opportunities. Rated Israel’s most active venture investor by PitchBook, OurCrowd has invested in over 280 companies and 30 funds.

OurCrowd has achieved record growth in the past year. New registered subscribers added to the OurCrowd platform have soared from 25,000 in 2020 to 75,000 in 2021 so far, representing 300% growth with three months remaining before the end of the year. New investments made this year on the platform will exceed $500 million, representing more than 100% growth in additional annual AUM. More than 50 OurCrowd portfolio companies have achieved exits including Lemonade, Beyond Meat, Uber (Jump), Kenna, Argus, Wave, and many more.

Under the agreement, OurCrowd will also enter into a strategic partnership with SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA – Sub-Adviser to SoftBank Vision Fund 2), to consider investment opportunities via OurCrowd’s online venture capital investment platform. The parties will also work with each other to evaluate market trends in a broad variety of sectors including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Mobility, Agtech, Cybersecurity, Healthtech and more. The collaboration will also see OurCrowd and SBIA support geographic expansion across their respective ecosystems.

OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said: “We are excited to be working with SoftBank Investment Advisers, one of the world's largest technology-focused investors. As a strategic investor with a global reach and a network of market-leading technology companies, they will be a pivotal partner in helping OurCrowd realize our vision of democratizing access to venture capital.”

Yossi Cohen, head of SBIA’s operations in Israel, said: “Softbank has been investing ahead of major technology trends for over 40 years and we believe there is huge, embedded potential in the private markets ecosystem. In OurCrowd, we have an investment partner with the networks and pedigree to help promising Israeli startups to potentially emerge as international tech champions.”

About OurCrowd: OurCrowd is the online global venture investing platform that empowers institutions and individual accredited investors to invest and engage in emerging technology companies before they go public. Acclaimed by PitchBook as the most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd vets and selects companies across all sectors and stages, invests its own capital, and provides its global platform of over 140,000 registered members from 195 countries with unparalleled access and freedom to co-invest from as little as $10,000 in the companies and funds of their choice. Founded by CEO Jon Medved in 2013 with the vision of democratizing world-class venture capital investing, OurCrowd has grown rapidly into the world’s leading online venture investing platform and as of 2021 has deployed over $1.8 billion into some 280 portfolio companies and 30 funds across five continents. To date, OurCrowd’s startups have recorded 50 exits including several stock market listings: Beyond Meat, Lemonade, Innoviz, Hub Security; and numerous high-profile acquisitions: JUMP by Uber, BriefCam by Canon, Argus by Continental, Crosswise by Oracle, Replay by Intel, Corephotonics by Samsung, CyberX by Microsoft, and Kenna Security by Cisco. 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. For more information visit www.ourcrowd.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Forward looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “forecast,” “intend,” “seek,” “target,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” “outlook,” and “project” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Such forward-looking statements include projected financial information, including 2022 revenue and the potential benefits of our relationship with SBIA. Such forward-looking statements with respect to the businesses of OurCrowd are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to: (1) expected revenue (2) the potential benefits of our relationship with SoftBank.

We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate.

We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on these statements.

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¹ https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/top-vc-investors-in-israel-2021