Mediterranean Towers Ventures of Ganei Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, has launched an investment fund dedicated to supporting technologies that support quality of life–health, culture, and leisure–for older adults.  Co-CEO Dov Sugarman, via email to this Editor, confirmed that the venture fund is limiting itself for the time being to Israel-based companies in pre-seed and seed stages, although some later stage investments may be considered. They are “open to all opportunities in the aging tech space”. Interested companies should review their website and apply for funding here.

While Israel is statistically a young country, with only 11 percent or 900,000 aged 65 and over, this number is expected to increase to 1.3 million by 2025. At present, 25 percent of households have a member over 65, and because of this distribution, there is a substantial support network of supportive and adult housing. The venture fund grew out of Mediterranean Towers’ main business as a leading publicly traded provider of retirement housing. 

The venture capital group is headed by Dr. Yael Benvenisti, who is the chair of the SIG Technologies of Aging Well (Society of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in Israel), a member of the board of the Israel Association of Gerontology and an advisor to government bodies. Mr. Sugarman is the CEO of Aging2.0 Israel and founder of the third-generation technologies sector at JDC-Israel. (‘3rd generation’, ‘3rd tech’, and ‘third age’ are common expressions for aging and related tech in Israel.) Release, The Marker (in Hebrew)