Elron – COMMITTED TO TURNING PROMISING IDEAS INTO GLOBAL INDUSTRY LEADERS

We partner with early stage ventures to build companies that transform lives and industries.

About Us

Since 1962, Elron has been at the forefront of Israeli innovation, as founders and early investors in companies such as Elbit Systems, Elscint, Zoran, Partner, Netvision and Given Imaging.

Today we remain committed to our vision of identifying transformative technologies, nurturing gifted entrepreneurs, and building companies into technology leaders.

Our team is dedicated to attracting and supporting imaginative and focused entrepreneurs and startups with never-been-done-before ideas. Group companies benefit from our combined technological, strategic, entrepreneurial & business expertise, broad networks, and wide attention span.

A word from our founder

Where We Invest

Medical Devices

We invest in treatment-changing (rather than treatment-enhancing) medical device companies. We seek companies with billion-$ market potential. We usually invest in the idea/R&D stage.

Cyber

We invest in exceptional ideas and technologies with the potential to transform or create new markets, and help make the world a more secure place to live in. We seek investment opportunities from seed to growth stages.

How We Invest

We aim high.

We invest primarily in early stage ventures with significant exit potential, in which we seek significant shareholder stakes, enabling us to provide hands-on support and contribute from our experience.

We become involved.

We play a defining role in the development of our group companies, by means of active involvement in all aspects of their business and day-to-day operations, to help them reach their long-term objectives.

We are committed.

As an operational holding company that invests its own capital in new and existing group companies, we have the flexibility to support the growth of our group companies over the long term, weather setbacks, and maximize exit events.

Key Stats

$1.5b

value of exit transactions since 2010

$231m

investments since 2010

$140m

dividends distributed since 2010

12

M&As since 2010

$204m

total amount invested in current group companies

1960s

Pioneering Defense

Elron was founded in 1962 by Uzia Galil (Israel Prize recipient) as a result of his decisive commitment to bridge the gap between Israeli R&D and industry, and create “a knowledge-based industry” (later named hi-tech…). Uzia succeeded in raising initial funds of $160,000. By the end of the decade, Elron had 500 employees and 7 holdings in the fields of defense, computers, medtech & electronics, and was represented in over 80 cities in 6 continents.

1962: Elron is established

1966: Elron founds Elbit, the first Israeli commercial venture in the computer field, with a primary focus on defense, medical & communications technologies

Today Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT) is the largest non-government-owned defense company in Israel.

1970s

Pioneering Medical Imaging

In 1969, Elbit spun-off Elscint, which grew to become a world leader in the development of medical imaging technologies, forging a new technology: Computer Tomography (CT). In just over 10 years, the company achieved major breakthroughs, overshadowing the competition by reducing the scanning operation to seconds. It also entered the realm of ultrasound.

1972: Elscint goes public, becoming the first Israeli company to list on Nasdaq

1975: Elron follows suit, going public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

Before its sale in 1999, Elscint enjoyed a 10% world market share, had $300 million in revenues, and 3,000 employees.

1980s

Pioneering Semiconductors

By the 1980s, Elron had devised a strategy of nursing in-house projects to be later spun-off (in time to be known as an “incubator”…). During these years, Elron established Oprotech, which pioneered automated optical inspection of printed circuit boards, and was actively involved in the early stages of the establishment of Zoran, a pioneer in the development of digital signal processing (DSP) technology.

1981: Elron invests in Zoran (merged with CSR in 2011, LSE: CSR)

1981: Elron establishes Oprotech (today Orbotech, NASDAQ: ORBK)

1983: Elron invests in Zoran (merged with CSR in 2011, LSE: CSR)

At the close of the decade, Elron had $420 million in aggregate annual sales.

1990s

Pioneering Communication

Driven by its commitment to “building on the successes of the past while anticipating future trends”, in the early 1990s, Elron was one of the internet pioneers in Israel, expanding into information technologies and communications by the end of the decade. Landmark companies founded by Elron during these years include Partner Communication, Israel’s first GSM operator, and NetVision, Israel’s first – and later largest – ISP.

1993: Rafael Development Corporation (RDC) is established to commercialize Israeli MoD technologies in civilian markets

1994: Elron founds NetVision (merged with CellCom in 2011, NYSE: CEL)

1997: Elron founds Partner Communication (NASDAQ: PTNR)

By the mid-1990s Elron had $1.2 billion in aggregate annual sales.

2000s

Pioneering Medical Devices

Through RDC, a joint subsidiary of Elron and Rafael (Israel’s 2nd largest defense company after Elbit Systems) which has exclusive rights to commercialize Rafael’s technologies in civilian markets, Elron has incubated and developed several technology leaders, most notably in the field of medical devices. Given Imaging redefined gastrointestinal disease diagnosis by developing the PillCam ingestible video capsule. Another RDC success is Medingo, which developed a miniature, lightweight insulin pump.

2001: Given Imaging goes public, and is the 1st company to list on the Nasdaq following 9/11

2005: Medingo, developer of an insulin micro-pump, is founded by RDC

In the 2000s, Elron added BrainsGate and Pocared to its portfolio, as part of its strategy of investing in transformative medtech startups.

2010s

Building tomorrow’s leaders

Today, we have significant holdings in a select number of start-up companies with disruptive potential. We are constantly and actively looking at new exciting ventures in order to continue and build tomorrow’s technology leaders. We continue to target investments in the medical devices field, and have also expanded our focus to the cyber space.

"Looking ahead, Elron should always understand that the ever evolving changes in the high tech industry will be exponential, and therefore, success will depend on choosing the right niches in the world market in which it can maintain and improve its relative advantage."

-Uzia Galil

News

More news

Cloud security co Kindite raises $4m

October 16, 2018

Kindite has raised $4 million in a seed round led by RDC (owned by Rafael and Elron), with the participation of investment fund CE Ventures

October 5, 2018

Peter Horowitz, a client partner of Motive Partners, has joined the OpenLegacy board of advisors