CTalk“There was a lot of hesitation when investing in Israeli or Israeli-associated funds,” after the war, says Viola FinTech
CTalk
“There was a lot of hesitation when investing in Israeli or Israeli-associated funds,” after the war, says Viola FinTech
“AI and GenAI will drive enormous innovation in general, including in Israel and in fintech,” added Tomer Michaeli, General Partner at Viola FinTech, speaking to CTech at Mind the Tech London.
Tomer Michaeli
(Photo: Symbol Europe)
“Even though we are investing globally, we are still synonymous and associated with the Israeli ecosystem,” explained Tomer Michaeli, General Partner at Viola FinTech, speaking to CTech at Mind the Tech London. “So definitely there was a lot of hesitation when investing in Israeli or Israeli-associated funds. We also see some impact on the innovation levels. In Israeli fintech, you see less innovation in general, which we also see elsewhere, but in Israel, obviously, because of current events, it has some impact there.”
Viola FinTech is a fintech-focused fund part of the Viola Group. Viola Group is the largest tech-focused investor group in Israel. The fund was set up in 2018 with a vision to invest in innovative fintech companies, both in Israel as well as abroad. Viola FinTech focuses on the stages relating to product market regulatory fits, which in fintech, start usually in the post-seed stage. While active in Israel, the fund is active globally predominantly in Western Europe and North America.
“We start to see some recovery. But it's still early, early signs,” he continued. “And I think it's being fueled by the fact that we are slowly but surely going back to normal, but also backed by new innovations like AI and GenAI, which we believe will drive enormous innovation in general, but in Israel and in fintech as well.”
You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.
