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HAIFA, Israel – Waseem Geraisy, co-founder and CEO of medical device startup Sorlis, worked in various small and medium-sized businesses before taking steps to acquire the skills and connections necessary to found an Israeli technology company. I have worked as a business consultant for 15 years.
Like other Arab entrepreneurs, Jeraisi, 38, recognized obstacles. Many of Israel’s rich startup companies are born out of the close ecosystem cultivated in the military’s intelligence technology sector. Arab nationals, who make up 21% of the population, are exempt from military service and miss out on the networking culture that comes with it.
Enter Takwin Ventures, a project co-founded by two of Israel’s largest venture capital firms to fill the gap for Arab companies and provide them with the support and funding they need. Geraisy’s company develops devices for the early detection of pressure ulcers, and in 2022 he joined Takwin’s 3D generation program, and he is currently investing $5 million to get this program off the ground. trying to collect.
“We had very few useful connections,” Jeraisi said. circuit. “3D generation has given me the opportunity to meet people I would never have met otherwise.”
Takwin, which means origin in Arabic, was co-founded in 2015 by Imad Telhami, a veteran Arab executive at Israel’s Delta Galil Industries, a textile manufacturer with factories in Egypt and Jordan. With the support of Erel Margalit, founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners and a former member of the Israeli parliament, and Cemi Peres, head of Pitango VC and son of former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Telhami is pursuing his ambitions. Takwin was founded on the principle of growing a resilient society. skin.
“If you want to start a company, you need the courage to dream big,” Telhami said. circuitt. “Entrepreneurs cannot think like victims.”
In Geraisy’s case, Takwin sent him to 3D Generation’s six-month academic program at Reichmann University north of Tel Aviv in Herzliya, Israel, where he interacted with industry leaders and other participants and ultimately We brainstormed with them and co-founded Sorlis.
Dr. Nardine Zoubi, an Arab woman who also participated in the Takwin program, is the chief medical officer. Rafi Rabinovitz, a mechanical engineer and startup veteran who was Geraisy’s mentor at Takwin, joins Sorlis as chief scientific officer. He brought on Mika Nisani, a former senior executive at Given Imaging, one of Israel’s most prominent medical device startups, as chief technology officer. The company, which pioneered capsule endoscopy with a swallowable, pill-sized camera, is now a division of Medtronic, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
Souris received $1 million in seed funding, split equally from the Takwin 2 Fund and a grant from the government’s Israel Innovation Agency. Geraisy said the company aims to get FDA approval for the device and plans to raise $5 million in a Series A funding round led by Takwin.
Headquartered in the northern port city of Haifa, Takwin has provided 13 early-stage startups with a combination of capital, office space, research support and professional network connections, said Itzik, CEO and managing partner of Takwin. Frid said. circuit.
“We started with a social mission, but we’ve always said it’s a profit-based fund,” Frid said. “We are trying to make huge profits for entrepreneurs and investors, because we believe that only by making huge profits can we attract young people in the Arab sector to the high-tech industry. It’s the same thing that happened before.” [Israel’s] It’s the Jewish section. ”
Among Takwin’s other portfolio companies, Imagry develops software that guides self-driving cars without using maps, SeismicAI develops an earthquake early warning system, and Myndlift helps therapists remotely It allows for guided neurofeedback to be provided to patients.
After the 2020 Abraham Accords, which aimed to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, Israel’s Arab business leaders see themselves as a natural link to the broader Middle East market. Ta. Among the speakers presented at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative conference in 2022 was the then-chairman of Israel’s Leumi Bank, the country’s largest financial institution, and now the strategic director of Israel’s Vintage Investment Partners. Samer Haji-Yehia, chairman of the advisory board, was also present.
The Takwin Office is a favorite exhibit for diplomats looking for examples of bright prospects amidst the darkness of Middle East conflict.US Ambassador Jack Lew Posted photo After visiting Takwin in February, he praised X for the “remarkable joint contribution of Arab-Jewish business partnerships in Israel.”
Fadi Swidan, Takwin’s vice president of marketing and business development, said the company’s location in Haifa will make it more accessible to Israel’s Arab nationals, who primarily live in the north, while its venture capital in Tel Aviv and Herzliya will be more accessible. He said that it will move further away from the center of the world.
“That’s why we needed a dedicated fund that would give them a starting point and give them access to smart money and good access to the network,” Swidan said.
Frid points out that over the past two years, venture capital has dried up from Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv, making Takwin’s challenge even greater. The company had aimed to raise $80 million in 2022 for the Takwin 2 Fund, but after the Gaza war, it had to lower its goal to $30 million.
“If financing is a problem for all Israeli companies, it is 10 times worse for Arab-Israeli companies,” Frid said.
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