Group 11, the venture capital fund headed by American-Israeli investor Dovi Frances, has announced it has secured over USD 120 million in the first closing for the firm’s fifth fintech fund in just 90 days.
The firm announced just three months ago it had intended to raise USD 100 million for the fund.
Group 11 says its fifth fund will invest primarily in Silicon Valley-based fintech companies, many of them with Israeli founding teams and R&D centers.
Founded in 2012 by current managing partner Frances, the Silicon Valley-based VC Group 11 has been an early backer of many fintech companies that are disrupting the financial services industry, including Israeli-founded companies like TripActions, Next Insurance, Tipalti, EquityBee, and Papaya Global, which just closed a USD 100 million Series C round at a USD 1.2 billion valuation.
Group 11 Fund V is anchored by institutional investors Migdal Insurance and Harel Group, who were joined by Menora Mivtachim Insurance, More Investment House, Hachshara Insurance Company, True Capital Management, and numerous family offices based in the United States and Israel.
Investment in the new fund will be available on TASE UP, a new electronic platform from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that gives high-tech companies, venture capital funds, and other funds access to investment opportunities from institutional and accredited investors.
“Since the inception of Group 11 a decade ago, the impact of fintech on transforming and revolutionizing the traditional financial services industry has increased dramatically,” said Frances. “Group 11 has been fortunate to be at the forefront of this revolution as a partner of choice for many founders of young companies that over the past few years have evolved to become category-defining unicorns. ”
“While we invest predominantly in US fintech-based companies, about 7% of our portfolio has emerged out of Israel with Israeli founders at the helm and R&D presence in Israel, so naturally, we are very pleased to welcome Israel’s largest institutional investors into the Group 11 family,” he said.
This article first appeared in NoCamels, which covers innovations from Israel for a global audience.
