After two years in the shadows, Rami Beracha is raising a new fund in the UAE
The former Pitango partner who left because of allegations of harassment seeks to cultivate innovation in the Gulf state
The fund’s website is still under construction, but Beracha’s name appears as the site’s owner. In March 2018, Beracha left Pitango, where he was a partner for 22 years, after Israeli investigative news show “Uvda,” broadcasted by the Israeli Channel 12, alleged he had harassed several women who met with him professionally, then hired private investigators to prevent news of his alleged sexual misconduct from being published.
Rami Beracha. Photo: Orel Cohen The new fund aspires to position the UAE as a global innovation hub, connect local entrepreneurs to international corporations, found a new VC fund that will invest in various fields, and launch a center of excellence in the UAE. The fields the fund aims to invest in include artificial intelligence, image processing, robotics, drone technology, cyber, sensors, quantum computing, virtual reality, and cloud infrastructure.
In response to the report, Beracha told Calcalist that “I see a huge opportunity in relations with the Arab world, which was further strengthened by the peace agreement with the Emirates. The experience accumulated in the Israeli tech sector can expedite innovation in the UAE and connecting them to a global network will bring benefits to both sides. This is an initial and independent initiative I am advancing and which I hope will gain momentum with time, in addition to my ongoing investment in startups.”
Beracha was a partner in Pitango, Israel’s largest VC fund, between 1996 and his departure in 2018. Since then, he has been investing privately in startup companies. The new fund presents Beracha as a shrewd investor who produced 20% annual returns on investment and tripled ROI over a 20 year period.
Pitango is extensively mentioned in Ender’s presentation, noting it has six active partners, runs eight funds, registered 82 exits, and manages $2 billion. “We are unfamiliar with this activity and are not a party to it,” Pitango told Calcalist. The presentation also makes reference to SOSA, a startup innovation center that’s active in three cities across the world, and which Beracha was a co-founder of.
