Israel’s OurCrowd announced last Thursday that Japanese financial services giant ORIX Corporation is making a strategic investment of $60 million in the venture platform. It is ORIX’s first collaboration with Israel’s startup sector.
Under the terms of the agreement, ORIX and OurCrowd will collaborate in agreed focus areas and will establish financial products and investment opportunities suited for the Japanese and global markets. This will include curated access to both venture capital funds and individual portfolio companies on a deal-by-deal basis, according to the venture investment platform.
OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said, “ORIX is a global leader in diversified business and financial services who will strengthen OurCrowd in many ways. We are enthusiastic about the potential to further transform the venture capital asset class together and provide a strong bridge for our innovative companies to the important Asian markets.”
OurCrowd empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies. Rated by market research company PitchBook as the most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its capital, and provides its global network with access to co-invest and contribute connections, talent and deal flow.
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The OurCrowd community consists of almost 60,000 registered investors from over 183 countries. OurCrowd has more than $1.5 billion in commitments and has made investments in more than 220 companies and 22 funds. Its portfolio is diversified across sectors and stages, ranging from seed and series A through late stage and pre-IPO firms.
Kiyoshi Habiro, CEO of ORIX UK, said, “We are excited about investing in OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture investor and one of the world’s most innovative venture capital platforms. We intend to be active partners with OurCrowd and help them accelerate their already impressive growth, while bringing the best of Israeli tech to Japan’s large industrial and financial sectors.”
ORIX is engaged in a wide range of businesses such as corporate finance, industrial/ICT equipment, environment and energy, automobile-related, real estate-related, private equity investment and concession, banking and life insurance businesses. The corporation has established locations in 37 countries and regions across the world
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Over the past several years, Japan-Israel trade has increased significantly with Japan becoming one of the largest investors in Israeli tech and with over 90 Japanese companies now active in Israel. ORIX and OurCrowd will work to further increase cooperation between the two countries and enhance opportunities for Israeli startups throughout Asia, according to the Israeli venture investor.
Meanwhile, the latest developments in the Japanese cyber sector will be the focus of a special digital edition of Cybertech on December 15. CybertechLive Tokyo will bring together top government officials, industry experts, leading companies, and startups. More information about the event can be found here.
