Israel-based commercialisation company SNÉ has closed a $2.5m funding round provided by VC fund Arieli Capital.
SNÉ, spun out of semiconductor intellectual property producer Rosetta IP in 2013, has been awarded an eight-year contract from the Council of Higher Education in Israel to act as a central tech transfer office for universities, research institutes and public hospitals in the country.
The firm received a ISh26m ($6.6m) commitment from the government as part of that contract, which has the option to be extended by four years.
The firm has partnered more than 40 institutions to date and is currently closely cooperating with Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design; Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art; Afeka Academic College of Engineering; Hadassah Academic College; Jerusalem College of Technology – Lev Academic Center; ORT Braude; Medical Center of the Galilee; and Ruppin Academic Center.
SNÉ relies on a proprietary methodology to identify promising research, focusing on fields such as biotechnology, medical devices, software, industrial design, agriculture, cleantech and water technologies.
Avi Ben-Zichri, chief executive of SNÉ, said: “We intend to use the capital raised to increase the number of institutions SNÉ works with in the coming year. We also plan to advance and develop current products, expand its portfolio of new products and prepare them for commercialisation.
“Along with this, we will invest in engineering and field tests, and continue to develop business relations with industry and investment funds in Israel and overseas.”
Eric (Ariel) Bentov, chairman of Ariel Capital, said: “We chose to invest in SNÉ as we believe in the marketing potential of the company and in the capability of its management team to provide the industry with an ongoing stream of proven business ideas from academic and research institutions from all over Israel.
“Beyond the financial investment, we intend to put our marketing and sales capabilities at the disposal of SNÉ, while emphasising the thorough testing of each technology’s marketing potential.”
