Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) founder and chairman, Erel Margalit, arrives in NYC with delegation of Israeli hi-tech CEOs to reopen city backed cyber center
Center aimed at promoting employment and innovation in NYC working on new technologies for post-COVID-19 recovery
JVP has invested more than $200million, mostly in the field of cyber-security during COVID-19 crisis
Margalit: “Job creation, employee and customer safety, and preparedness for any similar future occurrences must be top of our agenda. We believe in New York.”
New York City, NY – As part of efforts to lead the economic recovery in New York’s startup and cyber sector, for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, Jerusalem Venture Partners’ founder and chairman has led a delegation of CEOs from leading JVP portfolio companies operating in New York, in order to reopen the JVP NYC International Cyber Center in the city’s SoHo neighborhood.
The Center was established by JVP earlier this year, in partnership with the New York City Mayor’s Office and the Economic Development Corporation of New York (NYCEDC), with the aim of cementing the city’s standing as an international hub for cybersecurity. The Center works to provide a strong base for start-ups, connecting them to investors, multinational companies, leading executives, entrepreneurs, and universities within the New York City ecosystem.
In reopening, the Cyber Center is operating according to the most stringent Safe Work Zone standards set by the State of New York, thus enabling its employees to have a safe work environment.
As witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, new technologies are desperately needed and play a vital role in protecting cities, banks, utilities, and healthcare systems, as well as democracies, the integrity of information, and the freedom of the individual. The Center provides emerging businesses with a platform to develop such ground-breaking innovation in cybersecurity.
At a small event marking the Center’s reopening on Wednesday, Erel Margalit commented, “Zoom is a wonderful tool, but in order to create real international business connections, one must be present in the world economic capital, New York. For the Israeli economy to prosper again, Israeli high-tech must prosper again – and our connection to New York is a critical piece of that puzzle.”
He added, “Our handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will be judged by how we as a society and a global economy recover, as much as how we face the medical challenges. The need to adapt to a new normal, and harness all new technologies and applications of innovations to create the best possible framework for our economic recovery must be addressed now. This is why I have come from Jerusalem to SoHo, together with leading CEOs from our technology companies, to work with our team on the ground, together with our partners in the NYCEDC, to explore and examine the best way to move forward.”
He stressed, “Job creation, employee and customer safety, and preparedness for any similar future occurrences must be top of our agenda, and play a part in all our thinking and planning. We have faith in New York. We know New York will be a shining light for the world.”
“It is not easy to leave your family at such a time, but we are here for our New York family of colleagues,” said Mark Gazit, CEO of Thetaray a company that provides a cybersecurity solution aimed at preventing money laundering. He explained, “The facility that JVP is providing here in SoHo, offers support to the whole ecosystem of and the reinforcement needed to restart and recover.”
In January, senior figures from New York City’s business, technology, investment, and diplomatic scenes attended the opening of the International NYC Cyber Center in Soho. The event included a fireside chat between Academy Award winner and entrepreneur, Gwyneth Paltrow, with JVP founder and chairman, Erel Margalit. The Center is home to 28 companies, half of them Israeli, concentrating on business development and growth in the North American markets. The Center also houses an accelerator program for start-ups from around the world in the field of cyber, led by JVP and the NYEDC in cooperation with the city’s leading universities – Columbia, Cornell, NYU and CUNY – and a host of other strategic partners.
