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Accel Launches $650 Million Fund to Support European and Israeli Tech Startups

Accel Launches $650 Million Fund to Support European and Israeli Tech Startups

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Accel, a venture capital firm, announced on Tuesday the opening of a $650 million fund intended to assist early-stage companies in Israel and Europe. This action highlights Accel’s ongoing dedication to promoting innovation in these areas, where the startup investment scene is dominated by early-stage rounds.

Accel's Dedication to Israeli and European Startups

Accel Launches $650 Million Fund to Support European and Israeli Tech Startups

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Accel has invested in more than 200 firms since opening its London office in 2000, becoming a prominent force in the European startup scene. This new $650 million fund—the ninth of its kind—will help startups all the way up to Series A. This fund is the same size as Accel’s most recent U.S. early-stage fund, demonstrating the company’s faith in the Israeli and European markets.

Prioritise High-Growth Industries

Accel’s general partner Harry Nelis emphasised how the European tech landscape has changed in the last 25 years. Investments currently being made include AI video startup Synthesia, care home marketplace Lottie, and cybersecurity companies Cyera and Oasis. Accel’s investment approach will persist in emphasising industries that tackle urgent problems, like artificial intelligence (AI), smart commerce, and cybersecurity.

Market Patterns and Indices of Recovery

With €16.3 billion invested in the first quarter of this year, up from €13.7 billion in the same period last 2023, venture investing in Europe appears to be rebounding. Even though these numbers are less than the peak years of 2021 and 2022, a recalibrating of the industry could result in growth that is more sustainable. The capacity to raise significant capital in this setting points to a promising future for innovation investments.

Notable Contributions and Effects

Supercell and Spotify are only two examples of the prosperous European firms that Accel has previously supported. This latest fund from the corporation is intended to support comparable high-potential businesses. According to a research published by Accel last year, 1,451 new firms were formed by workers of 248 venture-funded unicorns in Europe and Israel, demonstrating a flourishing ecosystem.

Emerging Markets: Prospects for the Future

Nelis highlighted up-and-coming digital hotspots like Romania and Lithuania, where businesses like Vinted and UiPath are making big progress. Accel intends to use its new fund to invest in 25–30 businesses, demonstrating a wide-ranging hunt for creative startups in many regions.

Also Read: Uber to Acquire Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda Business in Taiwan for $950 Million

Concentration on AI

Despite the increased excitement surrounding AI, Accel plans to continue taking a balanced approach and concentrate on useful and significant AI applications. Nelis thinks that by utilising the knowledge of significant hubs like Facebook AI Research in Paris and DeepMind in London, Europe is well-positioned to succeed in AI application companies.

In summary, With its latest $650 million fund, Accel is making a sizable bet on the prospects of Israeli and European firms. Accel wants to empower the next generation of tech innovators by focusing on early-stage startups in high-growth sectors. This approach reaffirms Accel’s commitment to helping ambitious founders and advancing technological improvements in these areas.

Refreshworks Raises €750K to Accelerate AI in Dutch Businesses

Refreshworks Raises €750K to Accelerate AI in Dutch Businesses

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In a bid to accelerate AI-driven transformations within Dutch businesses, Refreshworks, a prominent player in AI consultancy and solutions, has successfully raised €750K in funding. This investment round witnessed the participation of eleven angel investors specializing in technology, compliance, safety, and consultancy domains.

Empowering Dutch Businesses with AI

Since its inception in 2016 by Diederik Klever and Ebel Slijp, Refreshworks has been at the forefront of empowering Dutch enterprises with AI-driven solutions. The company’s core focus lies in offering consultancy services, developing AI solutions, and ensuring the seamless integration of AI technologies within clients’ organizational frameworks.

Refreshworks Raises €750K to Accelerate AI in Dutch Businesses

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Refreshworks employs a meticulous approach to AI implementation, starting with comprehensive business scans to assess potential impacts. Subsequently, tailored strategies, roadmaps, and implementation plans are devised. The company further deploys skilled interim teams comprising AI architects and engineers to provide ongoing support and facilitate a smooth transition for clients.

Recognitions and Impact

Last year, Refreshworks received the prestigious FD Gazelle Award, solidifying its position as one of the fastest-growing companies in the Netherlands. The company boasts a robust portfolio, having partnered with over 250 entities including renowned names like AkzoNobel, Brunel, and Girav. Through its technological interventions, Refreshworks has generated a remarkable €120 million in business impact.

Simon Neefjes, the founder of TBWA\NEBOKO and soon-to-be shareholder of Refreshworks, emphasized the pivotal role of AI in sustaining business competitiveness. Neefjes highlighted Refreshworks’ prowess in not only introducing companies to AI but also ensuring comprehensive tool implementation for long-term success.

Also Read: SoftBank’s Arm Plans to Launch AI Chips Next Year Amid Huge Global Demand

Ebel Slijp, Managing Partner at Refreshworks, expressed enthusiasm regarding the broader integration of AI across Dutch businesses. Slijp emphasized AI’s significance in fostering growth, innovation, and ultimately, maintaining the Dutch economy’s global relevance. The company’s mission to position the Netherlands as an AI market leader has garnered substantial support from clients and investors alike.

With the newly secured funding, Refreshworks is poised to further propel AI-driven transformations, enabling Dutch businesses to leverage cutting-edge technologies and spearhead the 4th industrial revolution.

Scan.com

Scan.com raises $12m for US and UK expansion

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An ineffective public medical system has provided an ideal environment for health IT businesses to thrive, tackling issues like shortages of staff and enhancing radiologists’ software infrastructure. One such business is Scan.com, a healthcare imaging firm with offices in London that links patients with facilities for MRI, ultrasound, CT scans & X-ray scans.

Scan.com
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As it seeks to improve on its latest U.S. debut, the firm today revealed that it has raised twelve million dollars in an initial round of funding.

Also Read: Google TV now has over 800 ad-supported free channels

The issue, stated by Scan.com, lies in the fact that regardless of whether a patient can schedule an initial visit with a doctor, the referral procedure that follows to obtain the necessary scan can take months to complete, and they may then endure waiting even longer for the results to arrive.

Scan.com is collaborating with numerous scanning facilities to provide users with convenient reports that are complete with clickable graphics and are provided within a week. This allows people to get healthcare imaging services regardless of a general practitioner’s referral.

By paying in advance to guarantee their scan, members of Scan.com’s digital referral program are then scheduled for a virtual meeting with a doctor within forty-eight hours.

If a scan reveals a critical issue, the patient is placed in Scan.com’s urgent findings pathway, during which a clinical team gets in touch with them to talk about the findings and provide advice to determine what to do next.

“Our clinical team offers consultations and guidance to all patients once they’ve booked, which is a core part of the service we offer,” Scan.com CEO Charlie Bullock explained to TechCrunch. “Their time is included in our scan pricing, which is why we take payment at the point of booking. During the consultation, the clinician can amend the scan type, add or amend body parts, and ensure the scan is both safe and medically justified for the patient’s needs.”

Khalid Latief & Jasper Nissim, two doctors who organized testing for the patients they treated, launched Scan.com about five years ago after growing frustrated with the inefficiencies in the process. Scan.com debuted its service in the United States two months back, and as of now, it has about 30 staff working in both the UK as well as the US.

Also Read: South Korea fines Google $32 million for squeezing out rival

With an additional 12 million USD in cash on hand, Scan.com is well-positioned to keep up its U.S. broadening and expanding the scope of its offerings to include things like DEXA scans, echocardiograms, as well as mammograms. The company is also well-funded to pursue business contracts with companies that offer digital health services, staff benefits platforms, and other trade associations.

“Medical imaging covers such a variety of modalities that our focus is to launch as many of these as we can,” Bullock said. “Alongside scans, we also want to design pathways to add value for our patients, such as guided injections for pain relief, or adding in-vitro testing and pathology solutions to our preventative screenings to make them more comprehensive.”

Elron Electronic

Elron Electronic, A Well-Known Name In The Israeli Venture Capital Industry.

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Since 1962, Elron Electronic has been a well-known name in the Israeli venture capital industry. The company’s primary focus is initial investing, using knowledge across numerous sectors and significant strategic alliances to provide funding and support to potential Israeli digital startups, assisting them in realising their ambition to become great global leaders.

About The Company

Elron Electronic is a Tel Aviv-based Israeli technology holding firm that has been engaged in creating, financing, and developing more than 30 companies since its founding in 1962. It is regarded as one of the cornerstones of Israel’s high-tech sector. The company is active in various industries like medical technology, clean technology, information technology, semiconductors, and telecommunications. The businesses under Elron now have annual revenue of almost $5 billion. The company is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.

History

With the assistance of Dan Tolkowsky of the Discount Investment Corporation, Uzia Galil launched Elron in 1962. Shimon Peres, a defense minister at the time, visited Elron in 1966, and Uzia persuaded him to find a new business that would create minicomputers for defense uses. Initially known as Elbit Computers, the new business was a partnership between Elron Electronic and the Israeli Ministry of Defense (each holding 50 percent of the company). In 1967, the business unveiled the Elbit-100 minicomputer as its first product. Over the years, the business has evolved to become Elbit Systems, a global defense electronics company. Avraham Suhami, a brilliant engineer who had just received his Ph.D. from the Technion, was persuaded by Uzia to work with him in 1969 to launch a new business called Elscint that would concentrate on the innovation of scientific and medical solutions. The company produced MRI and CT scanners, among other pieces of medical imaging technology. Elscint was the first Israeli business to launch an IPO on NASDAQ in 1972. Elscint’s earnings increased to $311 million by 1996.

Current Holdings

Elron commemorated its 50th anniversary in 2012 and made the announcement that the company would only be investing in medical devices going forward. As of 2013, it held stakes in seven businesses operating in this sector, including Brainsgate, Given Imaging, and Pocared.

Elron Electronic
Image source: www.technion.ac.il

Founder – Uzia Galil

After a brief stint of working with Motorola in the US, Uzia Galil was introduced to the technology sector and decided to launch Israel’s debut high-tech startup firm. He founded the business in a buddy’s (Benjamin Sandller’s) apartment in Haifa while he was still in the Navy. The company’s initial offerings were measurement devices for use in electrical and medical applications. Uzia left the Navy in 1958, but the business failed to make enough money, so he took a job at the Technion’s physics lab. It was then that Dan Tolkowsky was introduced to Uzia. Dan, who found Uzia’s theories fascinating, persuaded the management of Discount Investment Corporation to provide funding for the business. Elron officially began operations in 1962 with a valuation of $160,000 and achieved $1 million in annual revenue within three years.

CEO – Ari Bronshtein

After acting as co-CEO of Elron from May 2009, Mr. Bronshtein has been the company’s CEO since June 2010. In the past, he was also the director of Elron. He provides a wealth of experience in company growth, financial management, and managing technological enterprises. He has held a number of executive positions at Bezeq, Comverse, and Tadiran. He currently holds directorships in Cellcom Israel, as well as other businesses belonging to the Elron and IDB groups. Mr. Bronshtein graduated from Tel Aviv University with a BA in Finance and Management and a Master in Finance & Accounting.

From spending nights on the stairs of Masjid to CEO of $60 million company

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Success does not always need to get along with grey hair; some people change the stereotypes. Among few such people, Ritesh Agarwal possesses a remarkable position. No doubt he has shown wonders in the world of entrepreneurship and made all the competitors to gape their mouth wide open. As it is said that everyone sees dreams but only few can turn them into reality; Ritesh Agarwal’s dedication and immense talent made his dream come true. The path chosen by him was not better than a jigsaw but his incessant efforts made it possible to overcome all odds and build a successful empire.

Imprints of talent right from childhood

Agarwal was drawn towards coding and computers since he was 8 years old. Pursuing his desire to become a self-made man, he undertook a project at the age of 13, when kids hardly are aware about career and jobs. The project gave him a life time experience and set a milestone in his career. During the project he traveled a lot and analyzed how the hotel system works. You can that see his relation with hotels had been established at that age only.

However, his love for computers enchanted him towards technical line and at the age of 16, he was selected in the Asian Science Camp at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. His resolution to follow science led him to Kota for the preparation of one of the most reputed technical entrances in India. Meanwhile at Kota he authored the book ‘The Encyclopaedia of Indian Engineering Colleges’. But he could not locate his real aim there as well. Exploring the motive of his life he moved to Delhi in 2011 where sprouted his first business idea.

Image Credit- oyorooms.com

A journey full of risks and struggle

Passion to start off something on his own had always been there in him. Ritesh’s decision to drop out his formal education and step into the business world proved to be a life changing one. At the age of 17 he laid the foundation of a company named Worth Growth Partners and became India’s youngest CEO. However, the company couldn’t take him to a higher ladder of success and the very year he was hard struck by financial crisis. He had no money to pay the rent and henceforth spent several nights on the stairs of Masjid in Delhi.

But all these hurdles could not budge Ritesh from his aim and the next year he founded another company, Oravel. This business could be called as an Indian version of the site Airbnb, dealing with bed and breakfast hotels. The idea grew fast within a short span and he received a funding of Rs.30 Lakhs from VentureNursery. The efficiency of his efforts and skills made him the only Indian to get the Thiel Fellowship where he was granted an amount of $100,000.  Ritesh had a thing for learning from always and this led him to acquire more knowledge about the entrepreneurial world from all the possible sources.

Renaming the company to OYO

Ritesh’s itch of seeking better responses from a larger section of society took him to the idea of OYO stays. He could see that Oravel targeted limited number of customers who could spare a large amount from their pickets. Therefore, he himself visited and stayed at several budget hotels to have a closer understanding of the needs of customers. After this he used most of the grant from Thiel to build the OYO chain to provide the best stay in the branded budget hotels.

The journey wasn’t a smooth one there as well as he started the journey with a single hotel in Gurgaon where he handled the duties of CEO, housekeeping and sales single-handedly. However the company soon geared up and received a funding of  $650,000 from Lightspeed Venture Partners and DSG consumer Partners. OYO rooms and Ritesh Agarwal didn’t turn back then and progressed with more investors getting along with them. In just 10 months it received $6 million from Sequoia Capital and LSVP at a pre-money valuation of $60 million.

When Controversies surrounded Ritesh Agarwal

The success story of Ritesh attracted a number of haters and criticizers who could not swallow the fact that a man as young as 22 could build such a huge business. People questioned his skills of coding and called him a liar and fake. He was also accused of blurring the funding records of company. His former relations with NCrypted Technologies also came in the limelight when the latter accused Ritesh of stealing their idea. However there were no real evidences found against Ritesh.

People are always ready to grab the opportunity to pull you back but the story of Ritesh Agarwal, who fought against all odds and established himself as a successful person will always inspire youngsters.