© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A person speaks by a cellular subsequent to Telefonica’s tower in Barcelona January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Albert Gea
By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Spain’s Telefonica (NYSE:), Europe’s third-largest telecoms firm, goals to extend investments in Israel’s high-tech sector this 12 months, together with in e-health and different consumer-facing enterprise, a senior official mentioned.
Luisa Rubio, who heads Telefonica’s innovation arm WayraX, has already made one funding in Israel – Upword, which makes use of synthetic intelligence (AI) to create quicker, extra environment friendly summaries from notes.
She mentioned WayraX, which invests small quantities in early-stage funding, is contemplating investing in two extra Israeli startups, with a call anticipated within the coming weeks.
“We have now already executed the primary one and hopefully, on the finish of the 12 months we may have one other 4 or 5 corporations coming from Israel,” Rubio mentioned in an interview with Reuters after visiting the nation final week. “Israel can be one among our most related markets by way of executing new investments.”
WayraX has taken stakes in 12 corporations because it started on the finish of 2020 and has a plan to succeed in 20 by the tip of 2022, she mentioned. Wayra, which is a decade outdated, has invested in some 800 corporations, and Telfonica Ventures buys into extra mature growth-stage corporations.
Since its investments are early stage, WayraX solely invests as much as 250,000 euros ($263,500.00) per spherical.
“The worth we carry to the desk will not be monetary, it is being a strategic companion to assist these entrepreneurs broaden their operations throughout our footprint – and to do enterprise doubtlessly with Telefonica sooner or later,” Rubio mentioned.
Digital well being and the flexibility of shoppers to connect with medical doctors on-line is a spotlight for Telefonica and a serious space for investments in Israel, though Rubio additionally cited client actions resembling shopping for groceries.
“We all know we’ve to maneuver actually quick (on funding selections) as a result of I’ve by no means seen an ecosystem as dynamic as Israel,” Rubio mentioned.
She famous that Wayra was additionally trying to increase investments in Miami as a hub to bridge Europe with Spanish-speaking international locations in Latin America.
($1 = 0.9488 euros)
