Tech Nation | Israeli Venture Capitalists Among World’s Most Confident

Israeli venture capitalists among world’s most confident

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Israel’s venture capitalists are among the most confident in the outlook for their industry but have less faith in the government to enact investor-friendly policies, a survey released this week by the global accounting firm Deloitte & Touche showed. Israelis rated their confidence 3.71 on a scale of 1 to 5, with only U.S. venture capitalists expressing more confidence, scoring 4.03. Israeli venture capitalists rated their government’s ability to enact policies supporting investment at 3.43, fourth among 12 countries. Regarding venture capitalists’ confidence in the overall economy in their countries, Israelis ranked 3.57, above the 3.41 average globally. The survey, taken in May and June, included 331 venture capitalists. (TheMarker Staff)

Rounds, developer of instant group-video chat, raises $12M

Rounds, which has developed a platform for instant group video chats on mobile, has raised $12 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital and Samsung Ventures. Existing investors, including Verizon Ventures and Tim Draper, joined in the round. Rounds, based in Tel Aviv, will use the proceeds to hire staff and build out the platform. “The next generation is about instant video chatting and interactivity, and this is exactly what we see in Rounds,” said Shmil Levy, partner at Sequoia Capital Israel, whose parent fund backed the hugely popular Whatsapp instant-messaging platform. The fund-raising was the second for Rounds, bringing its total to $22 million. The platform counts 25 million users worldwide. It enables as many as 12 participants to chat over video while engaging in games and photo-sharing. (TheMarker Staff)

TabTale buys Serbian games maker

Children’s-mobile-gaming startup TabTale said last week it had acquired Level Bit, a Serbian computer and mobile game development studio. Terms weren’t disclosed. The Israeli company, armed with $12 million from a 2013 fund-raising, last May bought China’s Coco Play for $1 million. Level Bit’s hit game “Genesis Rising” has sold millions worldwide. The purchase of Level Bit, known for its “for its integrated high capabilities of rich content game development, will enhance TabTale’s portfolio of wide audience games, an area that has been growing in the company under the Crazy Labs brand,” said TabTale CEO Sagi Schliesser. TabTale’s most famous games include “Cheating Tom,” “Airheads Jump” and “Max Axe.” (TheMarker Staff)