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Despite Covid-19 Crisis, Israeli Tech Registers Record Quarter

The coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis may have shaken the world’s economy to its core, but Israeli tech still managed to close a record-high quarter. Israeli tech companies raised a total of $2.74 billion across 139 deals during the first quarter of 2020, a record amount, according to a joint report released on Sunday by Tel Aviv-based research firm IVC Research Center and the Israel office of international law firm Zysman, Aharoni, Gayer & Co. (ZAG-S&W).

The painful effects of the coronavirus are likely to be felt from the second quarter onward, but during the first quarter, Israeli tech companies raised 76% more funds than in the first quarter of 2019. Leaving out the $400 million mega-round raised by ridesharing company Via Transportation, the opening quarter of 2020 was almost identical to the fourth quarter of 2019: $2.34 billion in investments across 138 deals compared to $2.36 in 138 deals in Q4 2019. While the overall sum set a new record, the fallout from Covid-19 was already felt. Only four seed rounds were completed in February, compared to 20 in January.

Read More: Algemeiner