Today (Tuesday) the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange announces (TASE: TASE) TASE UP’s first two listings – venture capital fund, Group 11 and start-up company, Veev.
TASE UP, launched several months ago, is an electronic platform designed by TASE to allow private high-tech companies, venture capital funds, funds specializing in real estate properties overseas and credit funds access to investments from institutional and accredited investors. Unlike listing on TASE main market, companies that are listed on TASE UP platform remain private and are not subject to any reporting or prospectus publishing requirements under the Israeli Securities Law.
The two newcomers that were revealed today in TASE’s annual press conference, mark an unprecedented year for TASE with the highest number of new listings since 2007, mostly emerging from the technology sector with 19 technology companies including 5 R&D partnerships out of a total of 30 new listings:
Veev – The Next Generation of Homes – US$ 50 Million Raise
Veev is a building technology company founded on the belief that homes are the ultimate consumer product. Veev is vertically integrating technology, design, modular fabrication, and building to make better quality homes, at a fraction of the cost, four times faster than the industry standard. The company is focused on building multi-family homes, single family homes, and accessory dwelling units (ADU-Accessory Dwelling Unit) at scale, to help develop and support communities, and improve our quality of living.
Veev has offices in San Francisco and Tel Aviv, with 280 employees – 218 in the United States and 62 employees in Israel. To date, the company has raised US$ 90 million from investors, including Lennar, a leading U.S.-based construction company, Zeev Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Group 11 and the Sagol Family.
Group 11 – A Top 1% Venture Capital Fund Specializing in FinTech – US$ 100 Million Raise for a New Fund
Group 11 is a Silicon Valley based venture capital fund that invests in revolutionary technology companies from the financial services industry. As FinTech continues to gain momentum and disrupt the traditional industry value chain, Group 11 has positioned itself as a partner of choice providing capital, guidance and ongoing support to entrepreneurs who are creating the world’s next generation of financial services. Group 11 is considered a top 1% performing fund. The group’s prior funds have delivered and continue to deliver remarkable returns to the Limited Partners.
Since its inception at the end of 2011, the firm has invested over US$ 200 million in some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent and disruptive financial technology companies, including Tipalti, TripActions, HomeLight, SunBit, Next Insurance, Papaya Global, EquityBee and Lili Bank. While the fund invests predominantly in U.S.-based companies, about 70% of its portfolio is Israeli related with Israeli founders at the helm and R&D presence in Israel. The firm is led by top investor, the Founding Partner, Dovi Frances, who currently serves on the boards of multiple companies in which the fund has invested and is also a member of the Advisory Council of Leumi Bank U.S, and serves on the Steering Committee of ICON – Israel Collaboration Network.
Dovi Frances, Founder of Group 11: “Since the inception of Group 11 at the end of 2011, we have been fortunate to be at the forefront of the revolution in financial services, as a partner of choice for many founders of young companies that over the past few years have evolved to become category-defining unicorns. On this special occasion, Group 11 is making its first ever foray into the Israeli market as a financial instrument that accredited investors and institutional investors alike can invest in as a marketable security offered exclusively through the TASE UP platform.
Frances added: “Long gone are the days where venture capitalists talk a big game but their performance is not shared publicly for all to see. From here on Group 11 performance is open for all to see and we will continue to report it semi-annually on the TASE website. Today is the opening shot to what is bound to become the standard over the coming decades – Venture capital funds ought to also be accessible to accredited investors and institutional investors through a centralized stock exchange that allows investors to buy and sell their limited partnership ownership whenever they deem fit. Full transparency into performance will create a natural selection of top performing funds seeking to be listed on TASE UP. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with TASE and we thank CEO Ittai Ben-Zeev and his management team for their bold vision and for entrusting us with being the first tech fund to go live on the TASE UP platform. We are certain that many more funds and companies will follow our footsteps in the coming years.”
Amit Haller, CEO and Co-Founder of Veev: “Veev’s mission from the start has been to bring exceptional living to everyone. We’re rethinking established norms in construction with a sustainable, technology-driven homebuilding approach that allows us to build better homes. TASE is home to some of the world’s most innovative companies and investors, and now they’ve built an innovative platform that enables even broader investor participation. As the first company to list on TASE UP, we’re opening the door for like-minded investors to join us in realizing our vision.”
CEO of TASE, Ittai Ben-Zeev, said today: “We thank Group 11 and Veev for their confidence in us and are delighted to welcome them into TASE UP. As home to the Israeli economy, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is committed to the encouragement of Israeli companies and entrepreneurs and is dedicated to strengthening the ties between local high-tech and investors. Recently, companies as well institutional and accredited investors have been expressing growing interest in TASE UP and we are confident that many more companies will shortly follow suit and join TASE, enjoying access to investors and liquidity, while remaining private.”
