Chinese online retail giant Alibaba has made yet another investment in Israel. Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) managing partner Kobi Rozengarten announced Monday that Alibaba has invested in JVP’s funds. Rozengarten did not provide further details on the investment. But sources familiar with the deal told Orr Hirschauge of The Wall Street Journal that the Hangzhou-based company has invested “tens of millions of dollars” to become a limited partner in JVP’s seventh fund.
Other Chinese firms have also invested in JVP
JVP has close to $1 billion under management, with holdings in digital media, cyber security, and semiconductor start-ups. A delegation of 20 officials from Alibaba is in Israel to meet with JVP officials and attend a conference on cyber security. Other Chinese Internet companies, including Qihoo 360, have also invested in Jerusalem Venture Partners.
It is Alibaba’s second investment in Israel. In December, the Chinese company invested in Quick Response (QR) code developer Visualead. The Israeli start-up creates a patented form of QR codes that users can scan using their smartphones. The investment allowed Alibaba to use Visualead’s technology on its shopping sites, apps and cloud computing.
Alibaba looking to position itself as an international behemoth
JVP has made several successful investments. It was the main shareholder of CyberArk Software, which went public last year. It was also an investor in cyber security start-up CyActive, which was acquired by PayPal earlier this month. JVP also backed XtremIO, which was acquired by EMC for $430 million. It was also an investor in CyOptics, which was purchased by Avago for $400 million.
Alibaba has been investing in a number of start-ups since its high-profile $25 billion IPO last year. It is looking to establish multiple businesses across the globe to appear like an international behemoth rather than a China play, notes the South China Morning Post. However, all the media announcements and investments have made little impact on its stock price.
Alibaba stock has declined close to 20% year to date. The stock fell 0.54% to $84.74 at 11:32 AM EDT on Monday.
