Israel best place to invest in technology: venture capitalist
American venture capitalist David Anthony has $125 million in capital under his management, and more than $80 million of that is invested in start-up technology companies in Israel.
And, yes, he sleeps very well at night.
Anthony, the managing partner of New York-based venture-capital fund 21 Ventures, told a Montreal audience that Israel is “the single best place in the world to invest in technology ventures.”
Anthony was the guest speaker at the inaugural Albert Einstein Business Forum, co-sponsored by the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Government of Israel’s Economic Mission to Canada. The guests came largely from Montreal’s financial and investment sector.
He founded 21 Ventures four years ago when even high risk-tolerant investors were shying away from Israel after the tech bubble burst and the intifadah was still being waged.
He has investments now in 20 seed and early-stage technology companies in Israel and the United States, mainly in the physical security, clean energy and mobile software fields, and is actively seeking more.
“By the end of the year we expect the fund to be worth $200 million, and by the end of next year, between $250 and $300 million,” he said.
Anthony and three other investors began with $5 million in 2004.
In the future, Anthony says, he expects to invest exclusively in Israel, describing it as a place of “tremendous opportunity in multiple fields.”
If you don’t believe him, Anthony notes that every major U.S. tech company does research and development in Israel. Israel is a bargain, he said. “Israel has the most mispriced assets in the world.” Investors are, in effect, getting a 30 per cent discount because people think Israel is a dangerous place.
“I don’t believe that. In the worst case scenario, Iran bombs Israel, and in that event we all better have gold bullion,” said Anthony, because the entire world economy would collapse.[…]