The Israel Innovation Authority has granted Cleveland Clinic and Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israel's largest providers, an incubator franchise, according to Cleveland Jewish News. Between the two organizations and eHealth Ventures, a digital health accelerator, the partnership is looking to invest big in Israel-based startups.
"The Israeli government is putting up about $25 million over eight years to support about 40 companies that we will admit into the incubators," Tom Sudow, Cleveland Clinic Innovations' director of business development, told Cleveland Jewish News.
Cleveland Clinic will connect startups participating in the accelerator with other organizations around the world to which the health system has ties. Mark Stovsky, MD, science and technology innovations officer at Cleveland Clinic, said he sees Israel as a center of real innovation in biomedicine, biotech and digital health.
"We saw an opportunity for the Cleveland Clinic to lend our expertise and to commercialize health-related technologies to help Israeli startup companies get to the market," Dr. Stovsky told Cleveland Jewish News. "Cleveland Clinic Innovations has vast experience in developing medical technologies and creating successful new companies around those technologies."
In addition to the $25 million put up by the Israeli government, another $12 million to $15 million is being contributed by other venture capital firms in the U.S. and around the world, according to Mr. Sudow.