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Battery Ventures Expands Israel Office
General Partner & Additional Investment Team Member Relocate from US; Firm Views Israel along with India as a Strategic Hub of its Global Investment Platform
HERZILYA, Israel and WALTHAM, MA, USA – August 25, 2008 – Battery Ventures, a venture capital and private equity firm focused on investing in innovation worldwide, today announced the expansion of its Israel office with the move of two members of its US-based investment team to Israel. General Partner Scott Tobin and Senior Associate David Sokolic will be working out of the firm’s Herzilya office beginning this Fall. This move supports Battery’s strategic goal of building out its global investment platform. Earlier this year the firm unveiled plans to open an office in Mumbai, India in Q4. Both Tobin and Sokolic will continue to work globally, sourcing and making investments in Israel and the Middle East, Europe and the US. They will remain integrated with the firm’s global investment team to help entrepreneurs to scale their businesses worldwide.
Battery Ventures has $3B under management and is currently investing BV VIII, a $750M fund. The firm invests in all stages of a company’s life, from seed/start-up and expansion financing, to growth equity and buyouts. Battery has been investing in Israel since 1995 and opened an office in Herzilya in 2005.
“We’ve always been global investors and believed early on in Israel as a technological powerhouse,” said Scott Tobin, Battery Ventures General Partner. “The overall Israeli economy remains strong, with steady growth and solid fundamentals. Beyond the numbers, there is an entrepreneurial culture, a supportive government and an appreciation for technology that continues unabated. We will stay true to our roots and pursue quality over quantity when it comes to investing and helping to develop the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and will stay laser-focused on finding the smartest people with the biggest ideas.”
“Scott’s move to Israel will greatly strengthen the ability of Israeli entrepreneurs to tap into the tremendous network Battery has cultivated over many years of operation,” said Ariel Maislos, co-founder, Anobit Technologies.
Battery’s heritage is investing in technology and tech-enabled businesses in a variety of sectors. Key technology sectors for the firm are: Advanced Materials & Clean Tech, Communications Services & Infrastructure, Financial Services, Internet & Digital Media and Semiconductors & Components. Today, Battery’s active portfolio of Israel-based companies includes:
- Anobit Technologies: A fabless semiconductor company targeting the rapidly growing flash memory market.
- cVidya: Telecom Revenue Assurance and Data Integrity products for service providers worldwide.
- Freshpoint: Novel Time Temperature Indicator technology for the global food industry.
- Neocleus: A pioneer in endpoint virtualization, increasing security for desktops and laptops.
About Scott Tobin
Scott joined Battery in 1997 and has invested in a wide range of interesting and successful businesses, including: Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), @stake (acquired by Symantec), Kashya (acquired by EMC), The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE; acquired by Euronext), MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS), ProfitLogic (acquired by Oracle) and Ximian (acquired by Novell). He has twice been named to Forbes’ Midas List of Top Tech Dealmakers. Prior to Battery, Scott spent time in investment banking at First Albany Corp. and was previously the Director of Corporate Development at Future Vision, a venture-backed software company that was sold to Softkey International.
About David Sokolic
David joined Battery in 2007 after 12 years as an operator for a variety of mobile, IM and VoiP-related technology companies. Prior to Battery, he was the Group Program Manager for Mobility in the Office Communications Group (OCG) at Microsoft and also spent time in the company’s Mobile and Embedded Devices division. Earlier, David was VP of Marketing for the Networking Business Unit at RADVISION, served as VP of Marketing for Gizmoz, and was a Product Manager and Marketing Director at VocalTec Communications.
About Battery Ventures
Since 1983, Battery has been investing in technology and innovation worldwide. The firm partners with entrepreneurs and management teams across technology sectors, geographies and stages of a company’s life, from start-up and expansion financing, to growth equity and buyouts.
Battery has supported many breakthrough companies around the world, including: Airespace (acquired by Cisco), Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), BladeLogic (acquired by BMC Software), Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY), LIFFE (acquired by Euronext), Neoteris (acquired by Netscreen), and Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR). Its current portfolio includes emerging firms such as Bazaarvoice, Netezza (NYSE Arca: NZ), Spot Runner, Tejas Networks, TradeKing, and Travelguru as well as more established companies such as ITA Software, Cortera and MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS).
From offices in Boston, Silicon Valley and Israel, Battery manages nearly $3B in committed capital. For more information, visit www.battery.com.
For more information:
Ronit Koren
Battery Ventures Ph:
+972-9-954-1004
rkoren@battery.com
Karen Bommart
Battery Ventures
781-478-6600
kbommart@battery.com
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