Investment platform OurCrowd is looking to go public on the Nasdaq market with a valuation of $1 billion in a special purpose acquisition company merger, according to a report in the Hebrew media.
Representatives from the Jerusalem-based venture-capital fund declined to comment.
According to the report, OurCrowd is on track to reach an agreement in the coming months.
OurCrowd, founded by Jon Medved in 2013, offers accredited investors the opportunity to put money into start-ups. The fund is rated by PitchBook as the most active venture investor in Israel, with $1.8b. in committed capital, and approximately 100,000 investors in over 195 countries. The firm has investments in more than 250 companies and has scored 40 exits, including recent IPO stars Lemonade and Beyond Meat.
The fund has been very involved with developments in the Arab world following the signing of the Abraham Accords and has opened an office in Abu Dhabi. Medved sees himself as a sort of business ambassador for Israel, and frequently promotes the country in talks abroad.
In a presentation in June at the Global Investment Forum in Dubai which was cosponsored by The Jerusalem Post and the Khaleej Times, Medved said Israeli companies need to expand into the United Arab Emirates “to reach the other half of the world.”
“It is a gateway to billions of people who we have not been able to reach with our products and services from our start-up,” he said at the time.
Two weeks ago, OurCrowd says it has signed an MoU with the Azerbaijan Investment Company to promote strategic cooperation for investment by the Government of Azerbaijan, making it the first Israeli business entity to sign an agreement with Azerbaijan since Baku opened its Trade and Tourism Offices in Israel.
In March, the fund signed an agreement with Waterfund to build a dedicated investment portfolio of 15 leading water and agricultural technology companies.
In April, Medved told investors that Israel’s hi-tech sector is in a state of hypergrowth, following the recent spike in tech deals.