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| Message from the Chairman |
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Zeev Holtzman
With the start of the New Year, after few months of digesting the crises that characterized 2008 we have begun to deal with the challenges that we face in 2009. All sectors of the technology industry have been affected by the turbulence in the markets and fears of recession. We fully expect to see a decline in IT spending, as well as a reduced demand in consumer electronics and therefore in some areas of semiconductors.
Due to the hesitation of many investors to make commitments, many startups will struggle to raise money. In addition, the situation will likely translate into fewer exit opportunities in the short- and medium run. In order to survive the crisis, both existing and future portfolio companies will have to focus on achieving better capital efficiency and financial discipline; and focusing on core technologies and profitable activities.
However, along with troubles, turbulent times also bring opportunities for investors who are able to take advantage of them. And this is one of the reasons we actively continue our fundraising for Giza V, which had its first closing in August 2008.
VCs specialize in long-term investment cycles, and we believe that Giza V, which has already begun investing, is ideally positioned to leverage the current economic situation.
Unlike many local and international investors who have frozen their investment activities while taking a “wait and see” approach, Giza is very much open for business. We strongly believe that investing in a period of slowdown, leveraging better valuations and cost structure, is crucial for growing a strong portfolio over the long term
In 2009, we plan to continue investing actively. Giza V will continue to focus on seed and early stage companies with experienced serial entrepreneurs developing innovative technology. Our investment criteria stress a high level of capital efficiency and syndication with other institutional and value-added investors from day one.
We believe that after a period of relatively few exit opportunities, the M&A and IPO market will begin to reappear in 2010. By investing in 2009, we will start to develop a pipeline of companies and reap the benefits when the exit market reawakens.
Our focus is on attractive technology sectors such as IT infrastructure and Cleantech (where we focus on water and energy technology). In addition, the Giza team actively engages with the technology industry in order to identify those subsectors which will have the most potential moving forward.
We will be happy to meet interested potential investors to provide more information about Giza V.
In addition to our efforts with Giza V, we continue to work with our existing Giza III and Giza IV portfolio companies to ensure that they survive the economic downturn and to help position them as attractive exit opportunities.
We have recently updated our presentation on the Israeli VC Market – status, trends, and outlook as we see it in the beginning of 2009. To receive a copy of this presentation, please email Vered Digmy, our Investor Relations Director.
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| Soluto -
www.soluto.com
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In September, Giza commenced an Ofek Program investment in Soluto. Founded by a team of energetic serial entrepreneurs, Soluto aims to tackle the problem of PC performance problems based on a revolutionary “PC Genome” approach to mapping computer processes. Giza led the investment, and was joined by a group of leading industry angels.
In addition to leading the investment, Giza helped recruit Naftali Bennett, formerly CEO of Cyota, and Lior Golan, formerly Cyota’s CTO, to serve as Soluto’s advisory.
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| ActionBase -
www.actionbase.com
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ActionBase continues its steady growth and advance. In recent months, the company has signed three major deals with marquee clients in the energy sector. The company believes its strategy of focusing on major verticals will be a key factor in its continuing success.
More …
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| ActionBase -
www.actionbase.com
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ActionBase continues its steady growth and advance. In recent months, the company has signed three major deals with marquee clients in the energy sector. The company believes its strategy of focusing on major verticals will be a key factor in its continuing success.
In addition, the company has signed channel partnerships with system integrators and distributors in Asia, Europe, and the US. These agreements will be an additional factor in ActionBase’s continued growth.
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| Altair Semiconductor –
www.altair-semi.com
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Altair closed its $22 million Series C funding round in September. A new investor, Pacific Technology Fund (PTF), a technology-focused Japanese private equity fund, led the round and was joined by Altair’s existing investors.
In the past two years, Altair has developed rapidly and is fast becoming the industry leader in chipsets for the 4G market. Altair has excelled at creating solutions with distinctly lower power consumption and smaller footprint than competing products. The company’s ALT2150 has been deployed as the standard chipset for wireless devices operating on Willcom’s next generation PHS technology in Japan.
More …
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| Altair Semiconductor –
www.altair-semi.com
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Altair closed its $22 million Series C funding round in September. A new investor, Pacific Technology Fund (PTF), a technology-focused Japanese private equity fund, led the round and was joined by Altair’s existing investors.
In the past two years, Altair has developed rapidly and is fast becoming the industry leader in chipsets for the 4G market. Altair has excelled at creating solutions with distinctly lower power consumption and smaller footprint than competing products. The company’s ALT2150 has been deployed as the standard chipset for wireless devices operating on Willcom’s next generation PHS technology in Japan.
The current round of funding will be used to support Altair’s global expansion, sales and customer support, as well as future development of Altair’s chipsets for WiMAX, LTE and XGP.
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| Lucid –
www.lucidlogix.com
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In October Lucid successfully concluded its third round of financing, raising $18 million. US-based Rho Ventures led the third round alongside Giza and Genesis, Lucid’s current investors. The new round brings Lucid’s total funding to $32 million.
More …
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| Lucid –
www.lucidlogix.com
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In October Lucid successfully concluded its third round of financing, raising $18 million. US-based Rho Ventures led the third round alongside Giza and Genesis, Lucid’s current investors. The new round brings Lucid’s total funding to $32 million.
In August, Lucid released the reference designs for its HYDRA 100 Series, an innovative SoC solution that provides an exponential jump in graphics performance by best utilizing a multi-GPU environment.
The new round of fundraising will be used to take Lucid to the next level, commercializing the HDRA 100 product and developing the company’s next generation of products.
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| Pathway Medical Technologies
www.pathwaymedical.com
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Following FDA 510(k) approval for its Pathway PV Atherectomy System, Pathway registered its first quarter of revenues in Q4. Sales have begun ramping up in the US. The PV Atherectomy system has been enthusiastically received as a treatment for peripheral arterial disease, with strong marks as a quicker and safer alternative over competing technologies.
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| Xeround –
www.xeround.com
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Xeround continues to gain significant traction and has signed a master agreement with a second major operator to implement its next-generation IVR call center platform. The agreement follows on the heels of Xeround’s agreement with Pelephone to consolidate its subscriber data.
More …
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| Xeround –
www.xeround.com
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Xeround continues to gain significant traction and has signed a master agreement with a second major operator to implement its next-generation IVR call center platform. The agreement follows on the heels of Xeround’s agreement with Pelephone to consolidate its subscriber data.
Xeround has featured prominently in both the trade press and with major industry analysts. A recent Yankee Group report on Subscriber Data Management (SDM) concludes that communications service providers must adopt a streamlined SDM strategy to provide personalized services across disparate networks. By doing so, they will be able to reduce user churn and increase profitability per user.
According to the report, a key component of this SDM strategy is the ability of service providers to have a complete view of user data, which is typically spread across multiple independent databases. Yankee Group concludes that in light of this issue, Xeround’s Intelligent Data Grid gives service providers the best, most cost-effective value proposition.
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| Odysii (TVeez) –
www.odysii.com
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As part of its sales and activity ramp-up, TVeez formally re-branded itself and is now known as Odysii. The new branding initiative reflects the refinement of the company in the digital signage industry. It signals Odysii’s focus on marketing intelligence and the ability of companies to more effectively communicate with clients.
Odysii has been steadily gaining new clients in the banking and retail sectors throughout Europe, South America, and Asia. In recent months, the company has signed with major banks such as HSBC, Credit Agricole and Banco Santander. These clients have chosen to adopt Odysii’s Queue Area Solution and Teller Solution in order to communicate with their clients at the branch level and improve general customer experience in the branches.
Odysii has also begun its North American operations, opening up a branch office in the United States.
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| IMScouting –
www.imscouting.com
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IMScouting launched its professional information service for the global football (soccer) industry in September. Accompanied by extensive coverage in the European press, the IMScouting website, which features both free and premium content, has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors, both professionals and fans.
The company has begun generating revenues from its subscription-based professional information service, and numerous football clubs in Europe have already adopted the platform as a crucial tool for locating new talent.
More …
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| IMScouting –
www.imscouting.com
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IMScouting launched its professional information service for the global football (soccer) industry in September. Accompanied by extensive coverage in the European press, the IMScouting website, which features both free and premium content, has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors, both professionals and fans.
The company has begun generating revenues from its subscription-based professional information service, and numerous football clubs in Europe have already adopted the platform as a crucial tool for locating new talent.
IMScouting operates the world’s most advanced and in-depth information resource on professional football players. Covering more than 30,000 players in nearly 50 professional football leagues worldwide, the IMScouting system allows football teams, managers, scouts, agents and other professionals to search for players and find the highest quality information on player performance, injuries, finances, and more.
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| Can-Fite BioPharma
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In September, Can-Fite signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Co., a Korean pharmaceutical company. The MoU gives Kwang Dong exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Can-Fite’s CF101 drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Korea.
The MoU is a framework agreement in the amount of $1.5 million, which covers both an upfront payment as well as royalties on sales. In addition, Kwang Dong agreed to purchase a one-percent stake in Can-Fite’s outstanding equity for a premium of 50% above market price.
More …
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| Can-Fite BioPharma
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In September, Can-Fite signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Co., a Korean pharmaceutical company. The MoU gives Kwang Dong exclusive rights to develop and commercialize Can-Fite’s CF101 drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Korea.
The MoU is a framework agreement in the amount of $1.5 million, which covers both an upfront payment as well as royalties on sales. In addition, Kwang Dong agreed to purchase a one-percent stake in Can-Fite’s outstanding equity for a premium of 50% above market price.
CF101 is Can-Fite's lead drug, with possible applications for a number of different indication. The drug is currently in advanced multi-national studies for therapeutic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and additional research studies for treatment of psoriasis and dry eye syndrome.
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| Surf Communications –
www.surf-com.com
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Surf Communications has announced a major design win, as NEC Corporation announced in September that it has selected Surf’s SurfExpress/PCIe multimedia processing solution to provide simultaneous voice and video processing capabilities for their core network mobile and fixed service delivery platforms.
More …
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| Surf Communications –
www.surf-com.com
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Surf Communications has announced a major design win, as NEC Corporation announced in September that it has selected Surf’s SurfExpress/PCIe multimedia processing solution to provide simultaneous voice and video processing capabilities for their core network mobile and fixed service delivery platforms.
NEC is in the process of developing a set of new multimedia applications for the Japanese telecommunications industry. Surf’s solution will be deployed as part of new IP-based networks that are currently being rolled out in Japan.
In choosing SurfExpress/PCIe, NEC cited the fact Surf provides a single-platform solution for true multimedia support while being both cost-effective and supporting high densities with low power consumption.
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| BioLineRX
http://www.biolinerx.com
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In January, BioLineRX received authorization from the Independent Safety Monitoring Board (ISMB) for completion of its Phase 1/2 study BL-1040, BioLine’s breakthrough treatment which prevents further heart damage and improving cardiac function and survival in acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients.
More …
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| BioLineRX
http://www.biolinerx.com
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In January, BioLineRX received authorization from the Independent Safety Monitoring Board (ISMB) for completion of its Phase 1/2 study BL-1040, BioLine’s breakthrough treatment which prevents further heart damage and improving cardiac function and survival in acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients.
BL-1040 has been tested on 5 patients and has been found to have no adverse events 30 days after treatment. The ISMB authorization will allow BioLine to expand and complete its study, widening it to include an additional 25 patients in Germany and Belgium.
The pilot Phase 1/2 multi-center open label study is designed to assess the safety and preliminary efficacy of BL-1040. Interim results of the study are expected during Q2, 2009, with final results expected in Q3, 2009.
BL-1040 is being developed as a Class III medical device utilizing U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s pre-marketing approval regulatory pathway, which should bring BL-1040 to market by 2012.
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| IVC Research Center Q4 2008 Survey |
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…and don’t forget to check out the latest analysis and opinions on our GIZA BLOG
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Vered Digmy
Director, Investor Relations
Giza Venture Capital
Ramat Aviv Towers, 12th floor
40 Einstein Street,
Tel Aviv, Israel
Tel: +972-3-6402336
Fax: +972-3-6402319
http://www.gizavc.com
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