The year 2021 was yet again a record-breaking annum for the Israeli hi-tech scene, raising $25.6 billion in 773 deals.
This exceptional sum was 146% higher than the 2020 number, mostly due to the large number of 77 mega-deals deals over $100 million that accounted for a 55% share of the total sum for 2021, compared to 20 such deals in 2020.
In Q4, Israeli start-ups saw 206 investment deals totaling $8.06 billion, continuing the uptrend from Q1.
The number of early rounds reached 52% of the annual 2021 figures.
Similarly, Israeli high-tech exits skyrocketed to $22.2 billion, with almost equal shares of M&As and IPOs. IPOs in 2021 peaked with 75 deals, 23 of them on Wall Street.
Adv. Mike Rimon, a partner in Meitar law Offices which produced the report together with IVC, pointed out that “2021 was the year of the ‘Big Bang’ in terms of IPOs of Israeli companies in the US. After years in which very few Israeli companies went public in the US, this year 23 Israeli companies listed their securities in the US, most of them at very high valuations.”
He estimates that the number of Israeli companies that will go public in the US in 2022 will be lower than in 2021, “but there is no doubt that in contrast to the past, an IPO became an extremely relevant exit alternative for many Israeli companies.”
Guy Holzman, IVC CEO, stated that “clearly, 2021 has registered record volumes in the Israeli high-tech market. Yet, there are some aspects to be considered by the Israeli tech companies – they will have a hard time proving their value, and growing their revenues next year.”
“Moreover, it looks like the Israeli high-tech market has reached a certain ceiling with approximately 9,300 active tech companies, when foreign multinational corporations and Israeli companies with high resources continue to attract additional local workforce,” he noted.