Maniv Mobility is a Tel Aviv, Israel-based venture capital firm that invests exclusively in mobility startups. Mobility is set to be revolutionized in the next two decades, similar to how the last two decades have revolutionized information and communication, making them ubiquitous and almost free.
Maniv Mobility envisions a future where people don’t have to deal with automotive fatalities, traffic jams, and polluted air. Founded in 2015, the firm has raised $140 million (USD) across two funds, the latest of which was announced in July 2019. Maniv Mobility’s portfolio consists of early-stage startups that are committed to a new mobility future.
Team
Leading members of the firm:
Michael Granoff – Founder and Managing Partner
Michael has been involved in three US presidential campaigns and serves on the board of several startups. He also serves on the board of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a Washington, DC-based policy and advocacy organization. Michael has graduated from prestigious educational institutions and holds an MBA and JD (Doctor of Law) from Kellogg, Northwestern University and B.A from Tufts University.
Olaf Sakkers – General Partner
Olaf joined Maniv Mobility as an associate in 2014 and now serves as its general partner. The Princeton University grad played an instrumental role in shaping the firm’s investment strategy and growing the fund. Olaf has written about topics such as business model disruption in the automotive industry and has taken part in numerous summits and conferences worldwide to speak about the impact of autonomous vehicles.
Nate Jaret – Principal
Nate, who joined Maniv as a senior associate in 2017, is now in charge of the firm’s investment strategy in Israel and Europe. The Hebrew University grad was one of the first employees at OurCrowd, a fintech investment platform with over USD 1 billion AUM, which was recognized as Israel’s most active seed-stage firm.
Prescott Watson – Principal
Prescott has held several top positions over the years, serving as a board observer at Zoomcar, advisor at Vintage Investment Partners and board director at Revel, Gas Pos etc. He was instrumental in Edgybees-an augmented reality startup’s entrance to the US defense market.
Analysis
A total of 49 investments across 29 startups have been considered for this analysis, and the analysis is based on data from Crunchbase. The startups included are those for which adequate information exists, and this is by no means an exhaustive list of all the investments made by Maniv Mobility. The total funding raised indicates the total amount of funding raised by the startups from Maniv Mobility and various other investors across the different rounds that Maniv Mobility has participated in. The estimated revenue range was available for 23 startups, and the funding amount was available for 41 investments.
The startups have been classified according to various industries based on data from Pitchbook, and the sector classification is based on Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s. The sector classification is subjective and has been made considering the sector/industry they closely resemble.
Of the 29 startups, 26 remain private, and three have either been acquired/merged or have gone out of business. Founded in 2015, Drive.ai was a developer of an AI-based self-driving technology that made autonomous vehicles safer. The startup raised $12 million (USD) in Series A funding led by Northern Light Venture Capital. The startup was later acquired by Apple in Jun 2019. California, US-based Owlcam develops security cameras that offer comprehensive video recording for cars while driving or parked. The LTE-based security cameras provide instant video alerts and live views of the car from anywhere, thereby helping to protect against break-ins and crashes. The startup raised $18 million (USD) in Series A funding from investors such as Khosla Ventures, ACME Capital, Menlo Ventures, among others. The startup was acquired by the private equity firm Xirgo Technologies in March last year.
The Information Technology sector tops the list in terms of funding (USD 313 million) and the number of startups (18). The prominent industries in this sector include Electronic Equipment & Instruments and Application Specific Semiconductors, which together account for 55% of the funds flowing to this sector. Tel Aviv, Israel-based Hailo, is a developer of AI-focused chipmaker and AI processors that deliver data centre performance to edge devices. The startup’s tech runs embedded AI applications on edge devices installed in autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), among other things, which helps clients reduce the power, cost, and size of microprocessors. Hailo has raised $80 million (USD) across three funding rounds between 2018 and 2020. Founded in 2017, Upstream Security is a cloud-based automotive cybersecurity platform that protects the technologies of connected and autonomous vehicles. The startup has raised $41 million (USD) between 2017 and 2019 from investors such as Volvo Group Venture Capital, Glilot Capital Partners and Nationwide Ventures. Phantom Auto is a unique startup that provides end-to-end safety technology to remotely control autonomous vehicles. The startup allows operators to control any vehicle from thousands of miles away, leading to enhanced worker safety, increased productivity, and reduced costs associated with labour shortages. The startup raised seed funding in Dec 2017 from Tectonic Capital, Wolfson Group and Maniv Mobility.
The Industrials sector has raised close to $104 million (USD) and constitutes 24% of the startups. The Automotive industry has attracted the lion’s share (73%) of the funding, with startups in this industry raising $75.6 million (USD). New York, US-based Revel provides a shared electric moped platform that helps customers get around easier and fast. Using Revel’s mobile application, customers can find and book mopeds within a few clicks. The startup has raised more than $31 million (USD) from investors such as Toyota AI Ventures and LaunchCapital. Bipi is a Madrid, Spain-based automotive startup that provides car subscription services to replace traditional car ownership. The startup’s platform allows users to book cars, subscribe, swap and even cancel at any time, revolutionizing the way cars are accessed.
Conclusion
Overall, Maniv Mobility has participated in funding rounds exceeding $478 million (USD), with most of the funds (68%) flowing towards Israel-based startups, followed by the US (23%) and Spain (6%). The firm’s most active year was 2017 with 11 investments, followed by 2018 with nine investments; 2016 and 2020 are tied for third place with eight investments each. A majority of the startups have an estimated revenue range between $1 million (USD) and $10 million (USD). Series A was by far the most popular funding type with 25 investments and $244 million (USD) in funding. Maniv’s strategy of exclusively focusing on mobility startups can reap dividends as the industry matures and reinvents itself.
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