Chartered Group and MAFAT mark a major milestone between Japan and Israel
For the first time, one of the most advanced and innovative
defense technology organization in the world (The Israel Ministry of Defense
Directorate of Defense Research and Development – DDR&D, aka
"MAFAT") and private equity firm (Chartered Group, Headquarters:
Singapore, Chairman: Eyal Agmoni) will help develop dual-use technologies in a
wide range of diverse deep-tech fields including the enhancement of human
capabilities, photonics, advanced energy development and autonomous systems,
among others.
srael is recognized as a leader in advanced technologies,
and investments from Japan in Israel have surged in recent years. With an
ever-increasing number of delegations from leading Japanese firms scouting for
Israeli startups and innovations, there was a need to create a vehicle where
Japanese corporations could have access to technologies otherwise not available
to them.
Collaboration between Chartered Group and MAFAT for the
incubation & acceleration of unique technologies in a wide range of
deep-tech fields with dual-commercialization potential in Japan & Israel.
Chartered Group contacted MAFAT in order to collaborate and
enhance its investments in dual-use technology companies. Working together will
significantly lower the development risks and enable MAFAT to increase the
number of technological solutions available to the Israeli defense system by
leveraging developments from the private sector. An example is Chartered
Groups' investment in InnerEye Ltd., a company developing systems and solutions
for combining human intelligence and artificial intelligence ("AI"),
for applications and markets where human expertise and knowledge compliments
the AI computing power.
Chartered Group is forming a new Singaporean fund named:
Japan Israel High Tech Ventures 2 LP ("JIHTV2"), which will invest
primarily in private equity and equity-related investments, principally in
Israeli-related technology companies. JIHTV2 is targeting $500 million in
capital commitments. The new fund will facilitate cooperation, co-investment
and incubate companies in Japan. Mr. Eyal Agmoni, Chairman of Chartered Group
says "With this new venture we will attract Japanese conglomerates to have
access to a lot of new technologies they do not normally have access to. We
will invest and incubate the companies in Japan which will significantly
shorten their time to market, and with the collaboration with MAFAT we hope the
portfolio to go-to-market quicker with higher probabilities for exit".
MAFAT and JIHTV2 will together allocate resources for
scouting and analysis of investments in dual-use technologies. Together they
will allocate US$50M for this joint initiative. The principal dual-use
technologies to be developed by this fund include:
Super user enhancement of human capabilities: brain-machine
interface, exoskeleton, advanced sensors, human monitoring
Energy: high density batteries, remote charging, hybrid
solutions, high power lasers
Autonomous systems: ground robotics, autonomous algorithms,
flight concepts
Leveraging the unique Israeli innovation R&D
methodologies and Chartered's access to Japan market
Dr. Daniel Gold, the Head of MAFAT, says, "we see the
collaboration with Chartered Group as a huge opportunity to extend our dual-use
deep-tech R&D for the benefit of both Israel and Japan. We would like to
increase our interaction with the Japanese market and to develop fruitful
collaborations which will hopefully lead to larger scale government to
government projects."
Dov Oster, the Chief Technology Officer of MAFAT who's
division will lead the collaboration had the following to say about the announcement,
"Innovations in Israeli defense and dual-use technologies will receive a
significant boost by the capital invested by Chartered Group combined with
strategic partnerships with blue-chip Japanese companies. The main
technological areas of focus for this collaboration are viewed as being mission
critical, as well as possess tremendous growth prospects both in the defense
and civilian markets."
About MAFAT
MAFAT is the main research and development
("R&D") organization of the Israel Ministry of Defense. The
organization supports the entire Israeli defense community by executing and
managing advanced scientific and technological projects. MAFAT implements advanced
R&D based on current and future needs of the defense establishment. MAFAT
works closely with Israel's defense industry, large commercial companies, small
and medium enterprises, deep-tech innovation centers as well as cutting-edge
start-ups to efficiently enable the transition of ideas into tools in the
field.
About Chartered Group
Chartered Group is a private equity firm with global. The
Chairman of Chartered Group is Eyal Agmoni, who, among other positions, sits on
the International Advisory Board Member of the Tel Aviv University.
The Chartered Group investments consist of four major
business interests: Investment Banking, Credit, Hospitality and Technology. The
groups' Chartered Technology division invests in companies that develop
disruptive technologies in wide areas including biomedical, artificial
intelligence and IoT, to mention few. It also focused on investments in Israeli
early stage start-ups as the anchor investor in TAU Ventures, the venture
capital fund of Tel Aviv University.
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