Precede Technologies, "The Cleantech Start-up Nursery"

Precede Technologies, an "entrepreneurship and investment firm which teams up with scientists and inventors to establish well-funded start-up companies", is the focus of an interesting feature article in "Globes".

Precede's partners, Orni Petruschka, Dr. Rafi Gidron, Nimrod Goor and Albert Olier, discuss Precede's origins, its investment strategy and focus on cleantech, and the firm's future plans.

The firm was founded in 2005 with the goal of bridging the gap between academe and industry, something observers have pointed to as a weakness in Israel's cleantech cluster. It is backed by Pitango Venture Capital and Evergreen Venture Partners and can provide up to $1 million in seed funding.

Precede Technologies' portfolio currently consists of three companies: Pythagoras Solar, Coriolis Wind, and SolarPower. In February of 2008, Pythagoras received a $10 million second round of funding from Pitango, Evergreen, and Israel Cleantech Ventures.