Israel Is an Island, and Innovation Is Our Ship, Says Venture Capitalist Chemi Peres

Israeli startups need to be thinking about scaling up and scaling out— to other, larger markets, Israeli venture capitalist Nechemia (“Chemi”) Peres said Tuesday. Peres spoke at Calcalist’s WeTechBerlin conference, held at the Hilton Berlin in collaboration with Israel’s Bank Leumi, its digital banking subsidiary LeumiTech Ltd., accounting firm KPMG, German real estate company Aroundtown Property Holdings PLC, and European investment fund Target Global.

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Describing Israel as an isolated island, Peres said the digital age had turned the country into a ship, capable of reaching every point on the map. “We are in a market without borders,” he said, adding that entrepreneurs should be thinking about scaling out to new markets where their companies can grow alongside— and not at the expense— of other companies in the field. One such company, Peres said, is Israeli ridesharing startup Via Transportation Inc., which is growing its operations globally alongside other ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft.

Peres is a co-founding partner at Israel-based venture capital firm Pitango Venture Capital. He also chairs the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation and is the son of late Israeli President Shimon Peres.