SINGAPORE, April 17, 2020 — For the first time, one of the most advanced and innovative defense technology organization in the world (The Israel Ministry of Defense Directorate of Defense Research and Development – DDR&D, aka “MAFAT”) and private equity firm (Chartered Group, Headquarters: Singapore, Chairman: Eyal Agmoni) will help develop dual-use technologies in a wide range of diverse deep-tech fields including the enhancement of human capabilities, photonics, advanced energy development and autonomous systems, among others.
Israel is recognized as a leader in advanced technologies, and investments from Japan in Israel have surged in recent years. With an ever-increasing number of delegations from leading Japanese firms scouting for Israeli startups and innovations, there was a need to create a vehicle where Japanese corporations could have access to technologies otherwise not available to them.
Collaboration between Chartered Group and MAFAT for the incubation & acceleration of unique technologies in a wide range of deep-tech fields with dual-commercialization potential in Japan & Israel.
Chartered Group contacted MAFAT in order to collaborate and enhance its investments in dual-use technology companies. Working together will significantly lower the development risks and enable MAFAT to increase the number of technological solutions available to the Israeli defense system by leveraging developments from the private sector. An example is Chartered Groups’ investment in InnerEye Ltd., a company developing systems and solutions for combining human intelligence and artificial intelligence (“AI”), for applications and markets where human expertise and knowledge compliments the AI computing power.
Chartered Group is forming a new Singaporean fund named: Japan Israel High Tech Ventures 2 LP (“JIHTV2”), which will invest primarily in private equity and equity-related investments, principally in Israeli-related technology companies. JIHTV2 is targeting $500 million in capital commitments. The new fund will facilitate cooperation, co-investment and incubate companies in Japan. Mr. Eyal Agmoni, Chairman of Chartered Group says “With this new venture we will attract Japanese conglomerates to have access to a lot of new technologies they do not normally have access to. We will invest and incubate the companies in Japan which will significantly shorten their time to market, and with the collaboration with MAFAT we hope the portfolio to go-to-market quicker with higher probabilities for exit”.
MAFAT and JIHTV2 will together allocate resources for scouting and analysis of investments in dual-use technologies. Together they will allocate US$50M for this joint initiative. The principal dual-use technologies to be developed by this fund include:
- Super user enhancement of human capabilities: brain-machine interface, exoskeleton, advanced sensors, human monitoring
- Energy: high density batteries, remote charging, hybrid solutions, high power lasers
- Autonomous systems: ground robotics, autonomous algorithms, flight concepts
Leveraging the unique Israeli innovation R&D methodologies and Chartered’s access to Japan market
Dr. Daniel Gold, the Head of MAFAT, says, “we see the collaboration with Chartered Group as a huge opportunity to extend our dual-use deep-tech R&D for the benefit of both Israel and Japan. We would like to increase our interaction with the Japanese market and to develop fruitful collaborations which will hopefully lead to larger scale government to government projects.”
Dov Oster, the Chief Technology Officer of MAFAT who’s division will lead the collaboration had the following to say about the announcement, “Innovations in Israeli defense and dual-use technologies will receive a significant boost by the capital invested by Chartered Group combined with strategic partnerships with blue-chip Japanese companies. The main technological areas of focus for this collaboration are viewed as being mission critical, as well as possess tremendous growth prospects both in the defense and civilian markets.”
About MAFAT
MAFAT is the main research and development (“R&D”) organization of the Israel Ministry of Defense. The organization supports the entire Israeli defense community by executing and managing advanced scientific and technological projects. MAFAT implements advanced R&D based on current and future needs of the defense establishment. MAFAT works closely with Israel’s defense industry, large commercial companies, small and medium enterprises, deep-tech innovation centers as well as cutting-edge start-ups to efficiently enable the transition of ideas into tools in the field.
About Chartered Group
Chartered Group is a private equity firm with global reach. The Chairman of Chartered Group is Eyal Agmoni, who, among other positions, sits on the International Advisory Board Member of the Tel Aviv University.
The Chartered Group investments consist of four major business interests: Investment Banking, Credit, Hospitality and Technology. The groups’ Chartered Technology division invests in companies that develop disruptive technologies in wide areas including biomedical, artificial intelligence and IoT, to mention few. It also focused on investments in Israeli early stage start-ups as the anchor investor in TAU Ventures, the venture capital fund of Tel Aviv University.
Inquiry
Chartered Investment Managers Pte Ltd 20 Collyer Quay, #11-01
Singapore 049319
Tel: +65 6557-2289
info@chartered.sg
http://charteredgroup.com/
Inquiry
Israeli Ministry of Defense – MAFAT
HaKirya, Tel Aviv, Israel
Email: MAFAT.CTO@gmail.com
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