Startup Investing

Looking to Asia: The state of India’s startup ecosystem

Looking to Asia: The state of India’s startup ecosystem

Nov 17, 2015 |

If you follow tech news, you know that this year many in the industry are betting on India. The country is no longer synonymous with outsourcing and R&D, but with entrepreneurship, especially out of Bangalore, a city that boasts more than 1700 startups according to AngelList. Private equity, VCs, and hedge funds are all laser-focused on what’s now considered the third largest technology startup ecosystem in the world. But why India? Thanks to a booming population with a burgeoning middle class, domestic consumerism is on the rise. India’s young talent  — optimistic, resourceful and motivated, some even dropping out of business school to start their own companies — account for many of the new tech startups sprouting up in the last seven years. While India’s startup scene may be flourishing and evolving, however, it isn’t new. In Harvard Business Review, serial entrepreneur and global virtual incubator founder Sramana Mitra, says India has “done well in the last twenty odd years to build its technology industry through services. Today we’re seeing a maturing of the industry.” From the commercialization of...

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Storing up on knowledge: An expert Q&A panel on Israel’s data storage success

Storing up on knowledge: An expert Q&A panel on Israel’s data storage success

Nov 12, 2015 | ,

As technology advances, data size increases, maintaining endless buyer demand for scalable digital storage. Over the years, Israel has carved its place as the hub for leading storage solution developers and a dominant force behind much of the exit and acquisition activity in this industry. Major cloud players like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are continuously researching and working on data storage innovations to facilitate and lead major industry trends. Many of these conglomerates are looking to the Israeli storage ecosystem in order to stay ahead in the new frontiers of the storage space. In this Q&A panel discussion, OurCrowd hosted a meeting of prominent minds from both the local scene and global ecosystem; the group below explores why storage is a challenging industry, what makes Israel a powerful player, and how the biggest acquisition in the industry offers clues into the future. Introducing the Panelists: Aaron Mankovski, Managing General Partner, Pitango. Previously Aaron founded and was a Managing General Partner of Eucalyptus Ventures. Prior to founding Eucalyptus, he served as Corporate Vice President of Orbotech Ltd. In addition, Aaron served...

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Game changers: 4 tech trends re-inventing the world of competitive sports

Game changers: 4 tech trends re-inventing the world of competitive sports

Nov 5, 2015 | ,

Back in 1994, we marveled at coaches being able to communicate with their quarterbacks through headsets embedded in helmets. By 2012, fans and players expected helmets to use technological advances to provide better injury protection. At the same time, new materials couldwithstand a one hundred MPH beanball, and embedded sensors were sending signal warnings based on the force of a collision.  This followed the trajectory of sports technology, a burgeoning sector that even today, merits major-league attention. Sports tech has captured the imaginations of Michael Jordan and Mark Cuban, both of whom participated in a recent $44 million funding round for Sportradar, a sports data science company that has contracts with three major sports leagues as well as Google and Yahoo Sports. Advances in sensor technology, nanotechnology, imaging technology, as well as the cloud and communication tools that fuel the Internet of Things, are being put to service in sports to prevent and treat injury, improve training and performance, and enhance the fan experience. Wearables Sports wearables generally fall into two categories: devices and materials. Fitbit is the most well-known fitness wearable,...

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Q&A with Replay Technologies CEO and co-founder Oren Yogev

Q&A with Replay Technologies CEO and co-founder Oren Yogev

Oct 27, 2015 |

We went to watch Manchester United play during a lunch break […] During the match Aviv said he would like to see the game from the perspective of the ball, and we started making sketches and tossing around ideas.” — Oren Yogev, Ha’aretz Join OurCrowd for a live demo of Replay Technologies at the company offices in Tel Aviv on November 2nd, 2015, at 6:00PM — RSVP here. Oren Yogev, CEO and co-founder of Replay Technologies, OurCrowd’s latest investment opportunity, is reinventing the sports-viewing experience with Free-Dimensional Video. freeD is a video format that gives sports fans a dynamic 360 degree, 3D viewing experience of their favorite professional sporting events. A Technion-trained physicist and electro-optical engineer with a deep background in high-end military technologies, Oren has spent more than a decade working on laser guidance systems, drone manufacturing, and video recognition platforms. OurCrowd Investment Analyst Avi Lozowick recently interviewed Oren about Replay Technologies’ revolutionary free-dimensional video technology, and the transition of military technologies and innovations to commercial use and civilian applications in general. 3D-ing the playing field: Q&A with Oren Yogev Avi Lozowick: So how did Replay get...

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Time to play ball: The future of video technology in sports

Time to play ball: The future of video technology in sports

Oct 22, 2015 |

Sports fans love to watch games live, but most of us don’t have the ability to fill a stadium seat on a regular basis. However, the television viewing experience need not be disappointing – it has its own benefits, thanks to several innovative companies re-inventing the world of competitive sports, especially spectatorship. Currently when we as fans watch a sports broadcast, we only have a 2-D perspective, but new technologies offer at-home spectators (as well as teams and officials on the field) unprecedented game viewing experiences. Read on for a summary of the state of sports tech, specifically video, and what the future holds. Who’s pressing play? The Need Sports content is considered one of the most lucrative content types for broadcasting. Consider that: Global viewership of sports is constantly reaching and breaking records. Over 70% of the adult population in the US (or 169 million people) follow professional sports. These fans spend an average of 7 hours and 42 minutes every week watching sports. Unique, high-quality content increases revenue via pay-per-view channels. Aside from viewership, consider the coaching...

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