Olive Tree Ventures closes $170m dedicated digital health fund

Israel’s specialist venture capital firm, Olive Tree Ventures (OTV) has closed a fund worth $170 million, with plans to expand its portfolio of digital health firms.

OTV is the only VC in Israel whose main focus is digital health, specialising in supporting portfolio companies reaching maturity.

This includes help with regulatory hurdles and marketing of any validated products.

Over the past five years the OTV has added several high-profile digital health firms to its portfolio, including TytoCare, Lemonaid Health, Emedgene, Scopio, and Donisi Health.

OTV was founded in 2015 by general partners Mayer Gniwisch, Amir Lahat and Alejandro Weinstein. Together with partner Manor Zemer, the OTV leadership team is comprised of investors with a wide range of backgrounds, encompassing healthcare, technology, private equity and financial services, and with experience in the US, Latin American, Israeli and Asian markets.

Alejandro Weinstein, general partner at OTV, said: “OTV’s goal for the upcoming period is to harness our expertise in facilitating the growth of digital health companies, and, with laser sharp focus, identify the market leaders of tomorrow.

“Digital health technology is increasingly important for strained healthcare systems seeking to provide accessible and affordable treatment, especially to traditionally under-served populations. The COVID-19 pandemic elucidated the importance of digital products to the global healthcare ecosystem, but industry pain points predated the current crisis and clear solutions will be needed in the years to come.”

OTV also announced the appointment of Jose Antonio Urrutia Rivas as head of Asia Pacific, who joins after working at LarrainVial as Asian market developer.

Israel has been identified as one of the hottest areas for investment in digital health, with three cities identified in the top 10 busiest places for deals in the sector.

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa all made the top ten list of the most active cities for digital health investment, according to a quarterly report from Startup Health.

2020 is already looking like the busiest ever for investment in digital health, with a record $16 billion flowing into the sector during the first nine months alone, according to the report.