LionBird Completes $25 Million Initial Closing of Second Fund to Make New Investments in Emerging Software Companies Transforming Traditional Businesses

TEL AVIV – July 1, 2016 – LionBird, the Tel Aviv- and Chicago-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage software companies operating in the healthcare, commerce and enterprise sectors, announced today it has completed the initial closing of its second fund, LionBird II, at over $25 million in initial closing commitments of the $50 million fund target. Founded in 2012, the firm has developed an investment strategy around early stage startups that leverage online technology to re-imagine traditional offline business processes and models and plans to build on the same thesis in its second fund.

The firm’s first fund, LionBird I, launched in Q4 2013 with $20 million in commitments, with the last of its 14 investments completed in Q4 2015. The LionBird team has decades of business management experience in small to giant healthcare and software companies around the world, using that experience to provide active guidance and support to all of its portfolio companies, contributing to the success of LionBird I.

“We play an active role in every company we invest in to make sure we thoroughly understand the business and the challenges faced, know the team, and can help identify the critical elements that make a difference between success and failure,” said Chaim Friedman, Managing Partner at LionBird. “Acting as a partner to our portfolio companies has helped us develop a network of colleagues, experts and tech executives that see LionBird as a value-added investor, allowing us to create an ongoing pipeline of very interesting investment opportunities for LionBird II.”

With a $50 million fund target for LionBird II, the firm plans to make fifteen to twenty new investments, with an initial investment range of $500,000 to $2 million. In its diligence process, LionBird looks for companies addressing major problems in under-served markets with large potential revenues that require limited capital to get to profitability and have smart, passionate teams with significant domain experience. While the firm does make investments in pre-revenue companies, a prototype or MVP has typically already been developed and tested with clear advantages over existing solutions or competitors.

“In LionBird II, we plan to build on the investment thesis we’ve pursued successfully for the past three years: that emerging, disruptive software technologies are transforming how traditional businesses and organizations in healthcare and commerce operate and are managed,” said Ed Michael, Managing Partner at LionBird. “There is a growing need for professionally backed seed funds, resulting in a significant number of attractive under-served investment opportunities, and we are applying our substantial operating and financial experience to help realize these opportunities.”

To learn more about LionBird, visit www.lionbird.com

 

About LionBird
LionBird is a venture capital firm based in Tel Aviv with operations in Chicago. The firm, founded in 2012, primarily seeks to invest in early-stage companies operating in the retail, healthcare, commerce, enterprise and information technology sectors. The firm has developed a successful investment strategy around early-stage startups that leverage online technology to re-imagine traditional offline business processes and models.
Media Contact

Sasha Hayman

LionBird

Tel: 847-840-8951

Email: sasha@lionbird.com