Catalyst Funds, led by Managing Partner Edouard Cukierman, has announced the closing of its fourth fund, Catalyst IV, with $150 million raised, bringing the firm's total funds to $450 million. The new fund aims to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators in Israel, with a focus on growth companies in sectors such as Cybersecurity, Life Sciences, Deeptech, Mobility, Climatech, Foodtech, and Renewable Energy.
The latest fund announcement comes amidst the prevailing sluggish investment pace across the board in the venture capital landscape. The outlook could be characterized as anemic as the market continues to grapple with repercussions of inflated valuations, and consequently impending down-rounds.
Global VC-backed funding rounds have experienced a notable decline across all stages, with a deep 53% year-over-year drop in Q1 2023 as investors continue to scale back, according to Crunchbase data. Late-stage funding in Q1 2023 experienced a significant decline, plummeting to $43 billion from $93 billion in Q1 2022, although it showed growth from $34 billion in Q4. Early-stage deals over the same period reached $25.6 billion, marking a sharp 54% year-over-year decrease, with Series B substantially more impacted than Series A, by all measures.
In line with startup fundraising, the pace of investor fundraising has withered from previous highs. By the end of the Q1 2023, $11.7 billion in new funds was raised across 99 funds, and capital commitments are largely concentrated in larger-size funds, according to Pitchbook.
The fund has already made investments in Curalife, Addionics, and Nexar, and it's managed by Partners: Edouard Cukierman, Yair Shamir, Boaz Harel, Lisya Bahar-Manoah, and Luc Muller.
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