US agtech fund Finistere seeks to expand reach in Israel

US venture capital firm Finistere Ventures, which specializes in agricultural technology, said Wednesday it was expanding its activities in Israel and appointing two investment executives in the country.

The firm has appointed Gil Meron and Eyal Rosenthal as venture partners to explore and strengthen its agtech investments and partnerships in the region.

“As the way people grow, produce, market and consume food around the world evolves, it is a time of unprecedented change in the agriculture industry. We see Israel as a center of excellence in agtech,” said Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner at Finistere Ventures. “Both Gil and Eyal worked closely with us on first investments in Israel, and we think having them on our team will help advance our mission as we continue to invest in Israeli disruptors across the agricultural and food value chains.”

The appointment of Meron and Rosenthal as Israeli venture partners will intensify Finistere’s growing reach in Israel, the fund said in a statement. Meron and Rosenthal will work with existing Finistere portfolio companies in Israel and other entrepreneurs to advance AgTech innovation in Israel and drive global market penetration, the fund said.

Before joining Finistere, Meron served as general manager of Yarden Group, where he drove a number of CleanTech and AgTech investments. Rosenthal is a managing director in Infinity Equity Group, where he spent more than a decade leading its cross-border investments between Israel and China.

Finistere works with agricultural industry firms including Agrium, Bayer and DuPont. Current Finistere portfolio companies include CropX, Plenty, and ZeaKal, and the firm recently co-founded Radicle, an acceleration fund dedicated to fostering agtech startups together with other members of the agricultural industry and the VC fund OurCrowd.