Investments in Israel’s ever-growing hi-tech scene soared over the past decade, with the total exits value reaching $111.3 billion in 1,210 deals over 10 years, an increase of 800% in the exits value and 50% increase in the number of exits, IVC Center showed in a new report.
The total value of exits of up to $5 billion in 2019 was the highest ever, with $14.84 billion in 2019, compared to $12.63 billion in 2018.
Israeli tech ended 2019 with a record high of $8.3b in capital funding. The number of transactions in 2019, 522 funding deals, remained at the same level as 2018.
The local high-tech scene has changed significantly over the last decade, with the total amount per annum rising four-fold and with the number of deals growing 64% since 2010.
Median and average numbers for the past decade showed that there were bigger deals and on an unprecedented scale, IVC said. Both median and average deal sizes per quarter grew exponentially from 2012 to 2019.
Venture Capital’s (VC) money played a bigger role in terms of total amounts invested during 2010–2019 and the number of deals. Deals with VCs involvement made up 60% of total deals in 2019, while the dollar volume of deals in which VC funds participated reached 77% of total capital in 2019.
Deal sizes changed dramatically over the decade. “Mega” deals with more than $50m have become common, making up 8% of the total number of deals. While mega and mid-size $10–$50m deals stood out, the number of low-size deals $0–$1m has become stagnant, reaching just 17% of the total number of deals in 2019, down from 24% in 2010.
Mega rounds over $100m peaked in 2019. 20 such deals captured 35% of the annual capital, much higher than in recent years.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) capital intake expanded over the decade, reaching $3.7b in 199 deals in 2019, with 55% of the capital raised in 18 deals, each over $50m.
Capital raising in cybersecurity increased to $1.88b. While deal sizes increased, deal numbers remained at the 2018 level.
IVC Research Center is a leading online provider of data and analyses on Israel’s high-tech, venture capital and private equity industries.