October 26, 2015

The Yissum Research Development Company, the technology-transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced the formation of Agrinnovation – an investment fund established with the intent of investing in and advancing agtech developments and startups.

In addition to announcing the formation of the fund, Agrinnovation announced the closing of its first US$4 million round of financing led by the Victor Smorgon Group of Australia, and including Yissum and the Provident Fund of the Employees of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Within days the round is expected to increase to US$6 million as a group of Chinese-Israeli investors also join the fund.

Agrinnovation, which is managed by Dr. Ido Schechter, plans to invest in approximately five stand-out early stage agtech projects per year with the goal of developing successful proof-of-concepts that can then be the foundation for startup companies that can scale up the concept to a level of commercialization.

"Following the success of Integra Holdings, Yissum’s biotech holdings company, we decided to adopt a similar model in the field of agritech,” said Yaacov Michlin, CEO of Yissum and Chairman of Agrinnovation’s Board of Directors. “The Hebrew University’s Faculty of Agriculture is the source of an impressive track record of commercial success, and is responsible for Israel’s leadership in the field. Agrinnovation is an efficient investment vehicle in the next generation of groundbreaking innovation, which will ultimately give rise to innovative ag-tech products.”

One of the first projects to be funded by the fund will be an edible, biodegradable protective coating that has been developed by Professor Amos Nussinovitch, with the Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, and Professor Haim David Rabinowitch and Dr. Yonatan Elkind, from the Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, that will enable the extension of the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, apples, nectarines, plums, cherries, stored garlic, onions, and citrus fruit, as well as improve the glossy look of the fruit while retaining its flavor.

A second technology to be funded by the fund is a system for the protection of crops from pests by electronic methods instead of chemical means, developed by Professor Hanokh Czosnek from the Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture.

Additionally, the fund will back a technology developed for the controlled release of drugs for farm animals that has been developed by Professor Michael Friedman and Professor Amnon Hoffman from the School of Pharmacy – Institute for Drug Research, and Professor Eran Lavy from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the Hebrew University. The technology would eliminate the need for repeated injections of pain killers and antibiotics, reducing repeated injections for the animal and reducing human error in repeated timing of doses.

Founded in 1964 for the protection and commercialization of intellectual property developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yissum Research Development Company has commercialized technologies that have $2 billion in annual sales. Known as one of the leading technology transfer companies in the world, Yissum has registered over 9,125 patents covering 2,500 inventions, and has licensed 750 technologies, creating 110 companies.