Israeli Tech Firms Raise Record $4.8 Billion in 2016

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli private high-tech companies, a main driver of the country’s economy, raised an all-time high of $4.8 billion in 2016, up 11 percent from 2015, a report showed on Tuesday.

The average funding round in 2016 reached a record $7.2 million while the number of deals closed last year slipped 7 percent to 659, according to the Israel Venture Capital Research Center and law firm ZAG.

In the fourth quarter, high-tech firms raised $1.02 billion. Traditionally, many of Israel’s tech companies have sold out at an early stage to global giants like Cisco, IBM and Microsoft.