However, there was one nagging concern to most attendees: the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak (Covid-19). Just days before the conference, Israel had banned direct travel from mainland China, and issued a travel advisory against visitors from Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. This prevented delegations of Asian investors from attending the conference.
JERUSALEM (Feb 20): Over 23,000 people from 180 countries arrived at Jerusalem last week for what was supposedly the largest tech startup conference in the world. Initiated by OurCrowd, a global venture investing platform – the annual conference is dedicated to matching Israeli startups with investors.
The venture capitalist is the financier behind prominent companies such as Beyond Meat and Uber. As at 2019, it had invested in 38 new portfolio companies, had eight exits and gained over US$500 million ($700 million) in new funding commitments. Overall, it has US$1.4 billion under management, from doctors, lawyers and accredited investors.
