In 2018, A Quarter of the Companies Samsung Catalyst Invested in Were Israeli Startups

Samsung Catalyst, the evergreen multi-stage fund of Samsung Electronics, had invested $300 million throughout 2018, according to its head Shankar Chandran. A quarter of the companies it invested in, Chandran said, were Israeli startups. Speaking at the annual Samsung Innovation Summit held Monday in Tel Aviv, Chandran said Samsung has been picking up the pace of its investment in Israel in recent years.

Among Samsung Catalyst's portfolio companies are Israel-based LiDAR startup Innoviz Technologies Ltd. and vehicle-to-vehicle communications chips developer Autotalks Ltd. In 2018, the fund invested in AI Development Tools Company Allegro.AI and 3D imaging company Mantis Vision Ltd.

Samsung has two additional investment arms that operate in Israel: Samsung Ventures, which sources technologies and investments for the company's business units, and Samsung Next, which focuses on early stage software companies. The company also operates a local innovation center.