Summary:

Program Description

This Call for Proposals is designed for:

• Israeli or foreign-managed venture capital funds establishing a dedicated Israeli deep-tech fund, with at least one Israeli general partner experienced in Deep Tech investments.
• Israeli general partners with a proven track record in Deep-Tech investments, seeking to establish a new Israeli Deep-Tech fund.
• All fund sizes are eligible, from early-stage to growth-stage investors.
• Funds must allocate at least 50% of their capital to deep-tech companies and 70% to Israeli high-tech companies (including companies incorporated in Israel or those for which at least 70% of their R&D expenses are classified as Israeli R&D expenditures, as detailed in Section 2.3 of the Deep-Tech VC Fund Program)

In this context, a Deep Tech company is a company whose R&D focuses on a tangible product or on the production processes of a tangible product. A voluntary pre-ruling mechanism to verify deep-tech company eligibility for investment will be available.

Advantages of participating in this program include:

• Attractive funding terms and risk-sharing with the Israel Innovation Authority.
• International partners benefit from collaboration opportunities and access to Israel’s innovation ecosystem.
• Official endorsement (“quality seal”) from the Israel Innovation Authority, facilitating further investor engagement.
• Support in achieving first closing and certainty right at the start of fundraising. Call for Proposals Description
• Grants of 12.5% of the approved investment framework, ranging from $4M to $10M USD per fund. · Funding is provided in tranches, aligned with capital calls.
• No profit-sharing with the Innovation Authority returns remain with the fund and its LPs, apart from paying back the grant + interest (SOFR)
• Funds may use the grant for management fees, provided parity with the limited partners’ fee structure.

Criteria

• The fund’s planned private investment framework must be at least $32M ($28M private capital).
• The fund must not have reached its first closing at the time of submission.
• The application must include an Israeli General Partner (GP) with experience in five deep-tech investments over the past five years, through at least one venture capital fund that managed $15 million USD or more. This GP must also serve as a GP in the new Israeli deep-tech fund.
• The application must include signed Letters of Intent (LOIs) from future LPs for at least 10% of the fund size (no more than $8 million USD required).

Application Process

Legal Disclaimer

The above information is a summary of the provisions of the incentive program and its guidelines, which are provided in English solely for the convenience of the reader. This translation has no legal status, and although every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, the Israel Innovation Authority does not assume any responsibility whatsoever for its accuracy and is not bound by its contents.
Only the original Hebrew version provided on the Israel Innovation Authority’s Hebrew Website is legally binding and shall prevail in the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency. Accordingly, readers are advised to consult the Hebrew page for any updates and/or changes.