Tech sector continues surge with nearly $1B quarter

First half of 2014 called best investment period in Israeli industry’s history

Israeli high-tech firms raised $930 million in the second quarter of 2014, the sector’s strongest quarter in more than a decade.

The figure, drawn from a survey by the Israeli Venture Capital Research Center and financial firm KMPG, was the highest quarterly figure since 2000 and an increase of 109 percent from one year ago.

Combined with the results from the first quarter of this year, Israeli high-tech firms raised $1.6 billion in the first half of 2014, which the research center calls “the strongest capital raising period on record for Israel’s high-tech industry.”

The strong quarter was led by a $135 million investment in Landa Digital Printing by the Altana Group, a German investment company. Life science firms raised more than any other sector, drawing $251 million in capital.

The data indicate the continuation of a recent investment surge in the Israeli tech sector. In 2013, Israeli high-tech firms raised $2.3 billion, the most in a decade, according to Reuters.