Entrepreneur Mati Kochavi officially launched a $120m investment firm on Tuesday called Moonscape Ventures backed by investors including AGT International, the internet of things technology company of which he is co-founder and CEO.
Israel-based Moonscape, which is also backed by social news network Vocativ, will target start-ups operating in the internet of things sector, as well as related technologies such as smart cities, big data and media technology. It will invest between $500,000 and $5m in each company.
In addition to Kohavi, Moonscape will be co-led by Tammy Mahn, who has previously worked for firms including Hamilton Lane, Pitango Venture Capital, Evergreen Venture Capital and McKinsey Consulting. Yonit Golub Serkin, formersly chief of economic development for Mayor Bloomberg in New York, is a principal at the firm.
Kochavi said: “Companies in the Moonscape portfolio will benefit from our deep experience, global network and partnership opportunities.
“By leveraging our unique access and experience, start-ups will be well poised to transform their innovative ideas into disruptive technologies.”
The fund’s first portfolio company will be SocialStudios, a US-based company developing technology that uses social media data to curate videos for people. Moonscape is investing $3.1m in SocialStudios.