JVP launches New York cyber center, advances global ambitions
NEW YORK – Leading Israeli venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) inaugurated the International NYC Cyber Center in the SoHo neighborhood of New York on Monday evening, seeking to replicate its domestic cybersecurity innovation success in the world’s financial capital.
The center for cybersecurity start-ups, established in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), aims to transform the city into the global capital of cyber innovation. The hub is already home to 28 promising start-ups, with half of the companies established in Israel.
Founded and chaired by Israeli
businessman Dr. Erel Margalit in 1993, JVP manages funds worth $1.4 billion, has established more than 140 companies and completed 35 exits to date – including 12 Nasdaq
IPOs totaling more than $20b.
The 2,450 sq.m. center on Grand Street will provide a Manhattan base for prominent start-ups from across the world seeking to scale internationally and connect them with key stakeholders in the cybersecurity ecosystem, ranging from investors to multinational companies and academia.
The initiative forms part of NYCEDC’s Cyber NYC program, which seeks to make New York City a global leader in cybersecurity and produce 10,000 jobs within five years. The initiative is fueled by an initial investment of $30 million from the City of New York followed by an additional investment of up to $70m. from private funding.
Joining the initiative are local academic institutions including Columbia University, New York University, Cornell University and City University of New York.
“We took an ecosystem approach, just as we do in the Galilee and Beersheba, with the idea that if New York wants to give Silicon Valley a run for its money, it needs to partner with Israel in a big way,” Margalit told The Jerusalem Post. “It’s true that the Silicon Valley will probably always be the tech center of the United States, but New York has the chance to become the international technology center. Israel is a very important ingredient in that.”
Senior public and private officials from New York attended the inaugural event, which also starred an on-stage conversation with American actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow.
While Israeli start-ups have traditionally excelled in core horizontal technologies, ranging from cybersecurity to artificial intelligence and semiconductors, Margalit emphasized that the “drama today” is about the intersection of such technologies with vertical markets that are reinventing themselves. Traditional banking services, for example, “need a lot more technologies to be trustworthy.”
The inauguration event also featured the launch of JVP’s Margalit Startup City brand, a new initiative by the Jerusalem-based firm to establish international innovation centers and create thousands of job opportunities worldwide.
“Our vision to transform the city into the cyber capital of the world, combined with JVP’s experience in driving change through innovation, creates a formidable partnership that gives rise to the next wave of cybersecurity startup success stories,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. •