lool ventures

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lool Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund, has appointed Haim Bachar as a Venture Partner. Bachar brings over two decades of experience in entrepreneurship, investment, and investment banking. His role will focus on identifying new investment opportunities, supporting entrepreneurs, and leading investment processes. Bachar has a history of successful investments and entrepreneurship, having been involved in several notable startups that were acquired by major companies. His appointment is expected to enhance lool Ventures ability to support early-stage entrepreneurs. Founded in 2012, lool Ventures manages $200 million in assets and aims to continue its role as a significant partner for entrepreneurs.

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The article discusses the dynamic and innovative nature of the Israeli high-tech ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of smaller exits in the $100-$300 million range. Avichay Nissenbaum, co-founding partner at lool ventures, highlights how Israeli startups are leveraging artificial intelligence to create value and attract global interest. The article notes that Israeli companies often cycle quickly, with founders moving on to new ventures after acquisitions. This rapid innovation and problem-solving culture is seen as a competitive edge, particularly in the AI domain. The article also mentions the trend of global companies acquiring Israeli startups for their teams rather than just their products, illustrating the value of Israeli talent in driving innovation.

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The article discusses the unique coding practices of Israels Unit 8200, a technological unit in the IDF, which has been a significant contributor to Israels high-tech ecosystem. Unlike the global trend of using AI tools for coding, Unit 8200 emphasizes manual coding, fostering a deep understanding of technology. This approach is seen as a competitive advantage, as alumni from these units transition to civilian industries with a critical eye for AI tools. The article highlights the importance of maintaining foundational coding skills in an era dominated by AI. Yaniv Golan, Co-founder and Managing Partner at lool Ventures, emphasizes the value of investing in startups led by individuals with such deep technological expertise.

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Yaniv Golan, Managing Partner at lool ventures, discussed the increasing investment in deep tech and the continued international funding of Israeli tech at the Tech TLV conference. Lool ventures, which manages $200 million in assets, has seen a significant portion of its 2024 investments in deep tech, particularly in AI infrastructure. Golan highlighted the positive surprise in the amount of investment in Israeli tech, especially from U.S. investors, despite internal challenges. The firm has a diverse portfolio with successful exits, indicating a strong growth trajectory.

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The article discusses Maya Azoulay, a partner at lool ventures, and her perspective on investing in Israeli tech during challenging times. Azoulay believes that the current market conditions present a unique opportunity to invest in high-potential companies, as crises often lead to the emergence of strong businesses. Lool ventures, managing $200 million across several funds, has seen success with its portfolio companies, which include Beewise, Flip, NoTraffic, and Eleos. Azoulay emphasizes the importance of investing in future-oriented companies that address deep, systemic problems. She also highlights the challenges and opportunities for female investors in Israels male-dominated VC landscape. Despite the small size of the Israeli VC sector, there is a growing interest in female-led ventures.

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lool ventures, a venture capital fund focusing on Seed investments in Israeli companies, has announced the $60 million first close of its third fund (lool III) targeting $100 million. This brings the firms total Assets Under Management (AUM) to $200 million. The fund also announced the appointment of Tony Saigh as a Partner. lool ventures will continue to focus on Seed rounds in Israeli startups and expects to invest in around 20 startups with capital reserved for follow-on investments. Investors in the first close of lool III include Israeli institutional investors, large family offices, high net worth individuals, and successful Israeli founders and operators through its newly incepted Collective. Previous investments by lool ventures include BeeWise, NoTraffic, Lightico, Flip, and Medisafe.

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lool Ventures co-founders discuss the Israeli tech industry and the importance of keeping success in Israel. They highlight the need for infrastructure development, such as education and high-speed internet, and address challenges such as company registration as American entities and the flow of funds into American pension funds. The co-founders believe that despite a decrease in the number of startups founded in Israel, the industry is maturing and quality is more important than quantity. They express optimism about the future, expecting a boom of creativity and ideas. The article also mentions lool Ventures diverse portfolio of investments in companies like BEEWISE, Lightico, and Medisafe.

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The article is a guide for young startups on how to successfully raise their first round of funding, written by an associate at lool ventures. It provides 10 key tips, including understanding the financial landscape before approaching investors, learning to tell your story in English, understanding the process of venture capital funds, and staying focused on what really matters throughout the closing process. The article emphasizes the importance of this first round of funding in enabling startups to hire the right people, build the company, and create assets for the next round of funding.

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Shookit, a fresh produce delivery company, has opened more than 20 branches in Tel Aviv in recent months. The company operates in a conventional business, similar to companies like Bikurey Hasade and Bikurei Bitan, wholesale marketers of fruits and vegetables. However, Shookit is developing technology to streamline the inventory management and delivery process. The company has joined many others that are disrupting conventional sectors, such as Uber in the taxi sector, Airbnb in the hotel sector, and WeWork in the offices sector. Shahar Tzafrir from the TLV Partners venture capital firm and Tal Morgenstern from Lightspeed Venture Partners have invested in Shookit.

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Mangrove Capital Partners, a European-Israeli VC fund, has announced its sponsorship of the soccer team Hapoel Petah Tikva. In exchange for a payment of 350,000 shekel ($99,000), the funds name will appear on players shirts. The move has raised eyebrows in the Israeli VC industry, with some investors criticizing the use of capital for such a sponsorship. However, others see it as a positive step in terms of brand exposure and community involvement. Mangrove partner Roy Saar explained that the decision aligns with the funds values and sends a message about accessibility and democracy. The sponsorship represents uncharted territory for VCs, who are now finding the need to market themselves and build their brand. This is part of a larger trend in the Israeli VC industry, where funds are competing to invest their capital in the most promising startups.

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Israeli venture capitalist Ronen Nir discusses the rise of specialist venture capital funds in the countrys growing and mature high-tech industry. These funds focus on specific market segments, such as automotive, agricultural technology, internet of things, and cybersecurity. Nirs own company, Viola Ventures, has a general fund as well as a specialized fund focused on financial technology. He expects to see more specialist funds emerge in the coming year. Specialist funds have advantages in deal flow and industry connections, allowing them to differentiate themselves and attract startups and investors. While some argue that specialist funds have better returns, others believe that the rapidly changing nature of the tech industry favors generalist funds.

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UrbanLeap, a Silicon Valley-based start-up, is providing a Software-as-a-Service platform to help municipalities improve their decision-making, progress measurement, and collaboration. With a growing customer base, including the City of Hayward, SACOG, and Palo Alto, and a pipeline of over 100 cities, UrbanLeap aims to become the intelligence layer for municipal executives. The company has attracted angel investors and advisors, such as Maury Blackman and Nate Levine, to support its go-to-market strategy. The article highlights the need for a different playbook when selling software to municipalities and the importance of understanding the unique challenges and incentive systems in this market.

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The article discusses the limitations of decentralized and fiat currencies and introduces Saga, a hybrid currency that aims to overcome these limitations. Saga is designed to enhance the existing financial system and earn trust by initially pegging itself to a basket of well-known currencies. As trust increases, Saga will decouple from fiat currency and become a non-sovereign digital currency. The article highlights the need for cooperation from world economic leaders, banks, investors, exchanges, businesses, and the public to successfully implement Saga. Saga has recruited experts such as Jacob Frenkel, Myron Scholes, Dan Galai, and Leo Melamed to design its economic system. The article is written by Yaniv Golan, co-founder of lool Ventures, which has invested in Saga.

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In response to the #MeToo movement, Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm Lool Ventures has implemented guidelines to prevent sexual harassment within its ranks and among its portfolio companies. The firm has appointed a Sexual Harassment Officer, trained its staff based on the Gold Standard voluntary code, created a public commitment page on its website, and established a reporting mechanism for complaints. Lool Ventures has also offered its portfolio companies with less than ten employees the use of their Sexual Harassment Officer free of charge.

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The article discusses the investment strategy of Israeli venture capital firm, lool Ventures. The firm, founded in 2012, typically invests in seed or A rounds, with amounts ranging from half a million to 2.5 million dollars. The firms portfolio includes companies such as Wibbitz, Brodmann17, Zooz, Medisafe, LawGeex, SiteAware, Talenya, and ClipCall. The firms managers believe that entrepreneurs, who live the market, know in which areas they need to focus.

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Yaniv Golan and Avichay Nissenbaum are launching Lool, a new micro-VC firm in Israel, to fill a gap in the Israeli funding market and help entrepreneurs with a good idea get further. Lool will provide seed and series A funding, mentoring, and added services to its portfolio companies. The firm is focused on Internet and media and expects rapid exits of less than $50 million. Lool aims to create unfair advantages for its portfolio companies and will focus on helping a handful of the best companies it can find.