- OurCrowd — which is the world’s largest crowdfunded-venture investment platform — announced the launch of its Pandemic Innovation Fund with plans to raise $100 million for investment.
OurCrowd — which is the world’s largest crowdfunded-venture investment platform — announced the launch of its Pandemic Innovation Fund. This fund plans to raise $100 million for investment in urgent technological solutions for the medical, business, educational, and social needs that are triggered by global pandemics and other health emergencies.
“The rapid spread of the coronavirus has validated our vision of a connected digital world poised to solve any crisis through global communication and rapid response,” said OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved. “To ensure that we get the world back on track, there is now an urgent need for innovation. Technology can help us overcome many of the problems resulting from the crisis. It’s time for tech to move fast and fix things.”
The FDA has approved new digital diagnostic tools. And these will remain in use once the current pandemic has settled. And app store downloads of remote working apps have also been surging.
OurCrowd’s Pandemic Innovation Fund is going to focus on Prevention & Containment(Vaccines, Testing, Personal protection, etc.), Treatment & Healing (Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Remote monitoring, Digital health, etc.), and Continuity & Disruption Mitigation (Remote working, Distance learning, Robotic process automation, Home exercise, Cybersecurity, etc.).
The OurCrowd portfolio already has over 20 companies actively working to mitigate the coronavirus crisis and its effects. And some of those will be candidates for follow-on investment from the Pandemic Investment Fund. Some of OurCrowd’s existing investments in technologies on the frontlines of coronavirus response include MigVax, Sight Diagnostics, SaNOtize, TytoCare, MeMed, Techsee, Kryon, Intuition Robotics, and Zebra Medical Vision.
The general partners of the fund include Dr. Morris Laster, Dr. S. Morry Blumenfeld, and David Sokolic.
“Together we must tackle the current pandemic as well as plan for future ones, because this story is just beginning. Entrepreneurs are uniquely skilled to provide fast and effective solutions to some of our greatest challenges. Our new fund will create the bridge between the innovations we need and the far-sighted investors able to provide the resources required to improve our world,” explained Dr. Laster.
