Viola plans to pull strings with $100m fintech fund
Israeli investment group Viola has tuned up nicely with an initial closing of $100 million toward a target of $120-$150 million for its new global fintech fund.
The fund is backed by banks, insurance companies and asset managers from North America, Europe, APAC and Israel, including Scotiabank, the Travelers Companies, Inc and Bank Hapoalim.
Ignacio (Nacho) Deschamps, group head, international banking and digital transformation at Scotiabank, says the partnership “will allow us to access Israel’s innovation ecosystem, including well-established cybersecurity and anti-fraud expertise”.
Viola says it has over $2.8 billion in assets under management. It was founded in 2000, and has invested in over 200 tech companies.
The group is led by Prof. Daniel Tsiddon, founder and general partner, who was the former deputy CEO of Bank Leumi (Israel’s second largest bank) and former chairman of Leumi Partners, the bank’s investment arm.
In addition, there is Tomer Michaeli, general partner, who co-founded FundBox (a small business credit and payment solutions firm); and Avi Zeevi, who has been in the fintech industry for 35 years and is co-founder of Viola Group and chairman of the Fintech Fund Investment Committee.
