The financial services firm has set up a strategic investment unit that will target areas such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger and smart contract technology.

The bank has put up $50m for the China-based venture firm's latest fund, which will invest $500m in AI-focused companies.

TAU Ventures, with initial commitments of $20m, marks the first time that such a fund is being launched in Israel.

Idinvest Digital Fund III has reached its first close having received capital from new and existing limited partners that include unnamed corporates.

The Ceres Agritech Knowledge Exchange has secured $28m and will exploit research from the universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Hertfordshire, Lincoln and Reading.