TEL AVIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) – Israeli private high tech companies, a main driver of the country’s economy, raised $1.44 billion in the third quarter, up 54 percent from a year earlier, a report showed on Tuesday.
The amount was up 14 percent from the second quarter, according to the Israel Venture Capital Research Center and law firm ZAG .
The average financing round was $10 million in the third quarter, the highest amount in five years. A funding round by Via Transportation of $250 million boosted the third quarter results.
In the first nine months of 2017, Israeli high-tech companies raised a record amount of $3.8 billion. The number of deals, however – 457 in total – declined to the lowest level in five years.
“IVC analysis found that most of this decrease stems from seed and early stage deals. A reversal is needed in the fourth quarter for the sake of the new ventures and their success as part of the Israeli technology market,” said Marianna Shapira, research director of IVC Research Center.
Reporting by Tova Cohen