Innovation Festival - Fundraising Experience pt 5
summary
Israeli Chief Scientist runs an R&D fund with a $400 million budget that gives 30–50% matching grants, covers hard science areas VCs avoid, and requires repayment as a loan if the project succeeds—about 30% of the fund is replenished this way; over 50% of applicants receive grants. Grants restrict IP transfer outside Israel (Google/Waze paid a multi‑million penalty), incubators and the Dufa program target early teams, while EU grants add 2–3 year sustainability audits that discourage killing nonviable startups.
AI-written summary · about