Iron Dome software company mPrest raises $20 million
GE Ventures and OurCrowd invest in Israeli firm in series A fundraising round.
By NIV ELISUpdated: JANUARY 26, 2016 00:19Soldiers stand next to an Iron Dome battery.(photo credit: REUTERS)
The company whose software underlies Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, mPrest, announced Monday that it had raised $20 million in a series A fund-raising round led by GE Ventures and OurCrowd.The company is looking to scale sales of its command-control systems, which can be used for a variety of purposes such as managing smart electricity grids.“We consider it a game-changing technology. To be connected to any device in the IoT [Internet of Things] world, you have to have a kind of platform that gives you the platform to adapt without developing your own engine,” said mPrest CEO Natan Barak.The system’s flexibility, and ability to incorporate new variables, inputs and commands easily is key, he added.The company said its technology is already in use across a variety of platforms in countries including Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, and Singapore.In January, The Jerusalem Post reported that the company was negotiating the sale of its system to Canada for Smart Grid use.According to Barak, the Iron Dome’s international fame has helped fuel the company’s sales.“The capabilities we’ve gained and proven through the Iron Dome platform get us the attention of many of our customers. It’s true that this platform is proven worldwide on many commercial applications, and they have the confidence that it’s stable and flexible,” he said.Jonathan Pulitzer, managing director at GE Ventures, said that General Electric is a potential partner in exploring the company’s applications.“mPrest has created a scalable software platform for smart asset management that has great industrial applications.
