The total was 15 per cent below the amount raised by 124 companies in the previous quarter and 12 per cent below that raised by 93 companies in Q1 2009 (which was itself the lowest quarter in the past three years).
Koby Simana, CEO of IVC Research Center, says the “figures for the first quarter of 2010 emphasise that Israel’s high-tech industry is still experiencing substantial difficulty. The decrease in the number of active Israeli VC funds and a reduced amount of capital available for investments, were the main reasons for the decline in capital raising. Unfortunately, we don’t expect any dramatic improvement in the next few quarters.”
In the event, fifty-four companies attracted more than $1 million each. Of these, nine companies raised $5 million to $10 million each and five companies raised more than $10 million.
The average financing round was $2.57 million, compared to $2.22 million in the previous quarter and $2.85 million in the first quarter of 2009.
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