Israel Cleantech Ventures raises $75M fund
Passing by its target of $60 million, new Israeli venture firm Israel Cleantech Ventures has raised $75 million for its official first fund from backers including Robeco and Piper Jaffray.
Claiming to be Israel’s first cleantech-focused fund, the firm already has bets on some companies, and is planning on investments across most of the cleantech sectors. However, there are a few that are likely to receive more attention, due to the geographical location and political realities of the country.
Several solar companies, including leading solar thermal firm Solel, have sprung up within Israel’s sun-drenched borders. Water is a strong market, with companies like Aqwise working on desalination technologies, and electric car-enabler Project Better Place also has a focus on the country, because of its small size. ICV already has investments in Aqwise and Better Place.
The firm has three general partners and four more venture partners; a list is here. It’s based in Ramat Hasharon.
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About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.