MT Newswires Exclusive: AI, Developing Technologies to Help Global Economies, Israeli Firms, Pitango VC's Peres Says

(MT Newswires) -- Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other new technologies in development are expected to help economies recover from a global slowdown while also improving prospects in Israel, Chemi Peres, co-founder and managing general partner of Pitango Venture Capital said in an exclusive interview with MT Newswires at the European House - Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy.

Venture capital investment in Israel-based startups decreased to $1.83 billion in the first half of 2023 from $6.95 billion in the same period last year, according to PitchBook data. The number of venture capital deals closed by Israeli startups also fell, dropping to 238 from 435 in the first half of 2022, Pitchbook said.

The next decade will be unprecedented in terms of technological innovation, and developing technologies are expected "to drive higher productivity and resiliency in the technological sector," Peres said.

Among the biggest challenges facing Israeli venture capital firms including Pitango is the ability to scale companies emerging from the country's innovation ecosystem so they can compete with the world's largest firms, he said. Israeli unicorns have yet to top a market capitalization of $100 billion as their ability to increase in scale is held back by the lack of workers in the country who possess the necessary skills, Peres said.

Recruiting remains a challenge, especially when compared with technology hubs such as Silicon Valley where companies can easily hire and grow rapidly, the Pitango co-founder said.

"We cannot recruit enough people to scale a business very fast," he said. "We're small in number and we don't have a regional market."

Israeli companies are compensating for the recruiting hurdles by doing more with fewer people, and by taking advantage of automation technologies, AI and quantum computing that are able to help companies grow faster, he said.

"We are at the verge of a new decade (that) will be characterized by Israeli companies breaking a lot of glass ceilings in terms of revenues, valuation, so I'm very bullish about the next 10 years for Israel," Peres said.

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