OurCrowd Has Now Raised $43 Million for 36 Companies.
Israel based OurCrowd, a leading global equity crowdfunding platform, has closed a $25 million Series B funding round. According to OurCrowd this is the largest investment round in the equity crowdfunding sector to date. The investment will be used both to further expand OurCrowd activities in Israel and worldwide, and to provide general partner funding participation for each OurCrowd deal on its website. Terms of the investment, and the list of participants in the round, were not disclosed.
OurCrowd is a hybrid investment crowdfunding site that combines in house VC funds to certain deals. The accredited only platform promotes not only Israel based companies but also searches for high quality, global early stage companies. Investor minimums start at $10,000. The one year old company has experienced dramatic growth led by well known entrepreneur and innovator Jon Medved. The company recently announced an expansion into the Australian equity crowdfunding market.
Since the site launch, OurCrowd’s 4000 plus accredited investors from 26 different countries have invested $43 million into 36 different companies.
OurCrowd CEO, Medved, stated:
“We are delighted to have closed this major funding milestone for OurCrowd. As we look back on our first year since launching in February 2013, we are gratified by the support of our global community of 4,000 accredited investors, our talented group of entrepreneurs and the 36 portfolio company teams. This additional funding will allow us to extend our global leadership in equity crowdfunding for early stage companies.”
OurCrowd, which began its activity by investing in early stage Israeli companies, has become the world’s largest equity crowdfunding firm in terms of dollars invested into companies through its platform. In addition to its own current $25 million Series B round, and its previous $5.5 million Series A funding round (Feb 2013). OurCrowd is already extending its global reach: four of its last ten equity crowdfunding deals were for companies based outside of Israel. Portfolio company round size has grown from several hundred thousand dollars per deal to a new high of over $3 million in a single deal. Eighteen portfolio companies have already raised more than $1 million each through OurCrowd’s platform.
Geoff Levy, the former CEO and Chairman of Investec Bank Australia and member of OurCrowd’s Advisory Board, who is an investor in the current round, said,
“OurCrowd’s emergence as the global leader in equity crowdfunding is now supported by a significant funding round. This new fuel will allow the management team to continue to execute the business plan and bring a wide group of new investors to the exciting tech startup scene worldwide. From their base in Israel, the ‘Startup Nation,’ OurCrowd will now make additional headway in Israel and other global innovation hotspots.”
Andrew Heyer, Mistral Equity Partners CEO, is another individual investor in the round and has joined the OurCrowd 
Advisory Board. He said,
“As a private equity investor, I look to invest in the best emerging companies and help to grow their great consumer brands. At Mistral, we recently led a $10 million follow-on funding round for OurCrowd’s portfolio company Abe’s Market, the leader in e-commerce for organic products. We believe that OurCrowd has proven that they can add real value to their portfolio companies. They are opening up great investments for individual investors and I am delighted to be part of this groundbreaking venture.”
OurCrowd is a hybrid VC-equity crowdfunding platform for accredited investors only who wish to invest in Israeli and global early stage companies. Managed by a team of well-known investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved, OurCrowd selects opportunities, invests its own capital and brings these startups to its accredited membership. Members choose those deals they invest in via OurCrowd-managed partnerships. OurCrowd investors must meet stringent accreditation criteria and invest a minimum of $10,000 per deal. OurCrowd provides post investment support to its portfolio companies, assigning industry experts as mentors and taking board seats. OurCrowd recently marked its one year anniversary, and has released an infographic with statistics illustrating its rapid one year of growth. Click here to access the infographic.
