SoftBank taps ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to head Israel office
From head of the Mossad to the biggest venture capital firm
in the world: Sources inform "Globes" that Japanese investor Masayoshi
Son's SoftBank is appointing former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen as manager of its
activity in Israel.
SoftBank is considered the world's leading technology fund,
with huge investments in companies such as Uber, Alibaba, TikTok, and Didi.
This is the second investment giant within three months to open a
representative office in Israel, after Blackstone appointed Yifat Oron as a
Senior Managing Director and head of its Tel Aviv office.
One of the reasons for the choice of Cohen is the fact that
he is a well-known and popular figure in Israel, even though he does not have a
background in investment. Cohen has the ability to connect to Israeli
entrepreneurs and technology and to open doors for them in any company,
government or public authority in any territory.
Cohen will manage SoftBank's activity in Israel, will scout
companies for investment, and will help those companies find global markets,
with an emphasis on Asia. Cohen will work with SoftBank's Europe and Middle
East team, managed from London by SoftBank Vision Fund managing partner Yanni
Pipilis. He will be a member of SoftBank's second fund, amounting to $30
billion, and will not make investments from the firm's first fund, among the
investors in which is the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund.
"Globes" has learned that SoftBank intends to
write a check of a minimum of $50 million for growth companies with valuations
of at least $250 million that have proven AI technology at a high level,
whether it is technology for finding the right price for the right customer, or
enterprise software that serves other enterprises. Companies that could benefit
from investment by SoftBank are growth companies at late fund raising stages,
from the second, third or fourth round.
SoftBank will require companies to have annual revenue of at
least $10 million, with a rapid growth record and numbers that point towards
profitability, even if in the medium term.
"SoftBank has pioneered a new approach to technology
investing and created the world’s largest ecosystem of emerging technology
champions," said Cohen. "Israel’s advanced technology and
entrepreneurial culture make it a natural fit for SoftBank’s investment vision
and I look forward to helping fast-moving companies scale in the region and
globally."
"We’re very interested in expanding our presence in
Israel. We believe massively in the ecosystem that exists in the country,
because we are investors in technology and AI, and Israel has amazing
entrepreneurs and founders in this technology space," Pipilis told
"Globes". "We felt that increasing our focus in the area would
make sense. We’ve recently completed multiple investments in Israel, and see
many other compelling opportunities.
"When we met Mr. Cohen, we immediately got excited
about the opportunity to work together. He is very well connected in the
Israeli industry at large, he is someone that entrepreneurs and founders can
recognize and can be a central focal point for us.
"Clearly, his relationship across Israeli industry, and
the ability to traverse international relations are effective to be able to
essentially help connect these entrepreneurs globally with the AI ecosystem.
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