Tel Aviv's TTO Ramot closes its Technology Innovation Momentum Fund with $23.5m in the tank.
Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s (TAU) technology transfer company, has now closed its Technology Innovation Momentum Fund at $23.5m after previous commitments from India-based Tata Industries, which invested $5m in May last year, US-based flash memory storage developer SanDisk, and angel investors from South Africa, the US, and India.
Temasek, a Singapore-based investment company on behalf of the government, has committed $5m to Ramot’s venture fund. The company, which manages S$223bn ($177bn), said it would fund and generate commercialisation-ready technologies in a wide range of fields, including engineering and exact sciences, environment and clean technology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
Joseph Klafter, president of the university, said: “Our innovative initiative and inter-disciplinary research set an example for others to follow. With support from both Tata and Temasek, TAU aims to develop ground-breaking advanced technologies that have the potential to positively impact communities across the world in many technological areas.”
Shlomo Nimrodi, Ramot’s CEO, added: “Being the second lead investor, Temasek will be able to see promising technologies at Tel Aviv University, as well as participate in the different scientific committees and in the investment committee.”
The Momentum Fund has already selected six leading technologies in the first three months of the year and is in the process of selecting an additional four to six technologies in the final quarter, according to Nimrodi, who added: “We expect the Momentum Fund to support 20-40 promising innovations over time.”
