Jerusalem, Israel- April 20th, 2020: The Startup Nation is back to work. In the Jerusalem Venture Partners’ Media Quarter of Jerusalem, each employee is undergoing an advanced temperature test, completing a Weizmann Institute questionnaire, printing themselves a unique 3D printed face mask, and being allocated special space in the complex to ensure social distancing.
JVP in Jerusalem employs around 250 people in about 20 start-ups, incubators and more advanced level companies. Using the latest technological solutions, they decided to build on the new Israeli Ministry of Health Guidelines to ease the restrictions on economic and social activity – a move which will serve as a pilot scheme for the return to full operations in JVP’s International Cyber Center in New York.
Erel Margalit, chairman and founder of JVP: “Israel’s hi-tech provides solutions for people across the globe dealing with the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, but beyond that, we are producing a higher level of best practices and standards for a return to work, which can all be applied worldwide.” He added, “First of all, we need to make sure our workers come to work and return home healthy.”
At the entrance to the complex, each employee goes through a special temperature screening technology developed by Thermogate, which detects body temperature in seconds. The product has been optimized for places of mass public gatherings such as shopping malls, schools, offices and stadiums. Then, within minutes, a “Good Thought” 3D printing machine then produces a plastic face protector for anyone who enters the complex. In addition, everyone who enters the complex completes a short questionnaire developed by the Weizmann Institute – based on their answers, entrance to the building is granted or denied.
In addition, once inside the building, to minimize contact between employees, a robot by TEMI Personal Robots transfers documents between the offices, the elevator has been programmed to ensure only those with access granted can use it, and each door in the building has sanitizing materials at hand. All handles in the compound are disinfected every hour by the cleaning staff of the compound.
Guests arriving at the complex are not allowed into the building and conference rooms, but only to a dedicated guest building with a separate entrance. Guests enter from one side of the building and the compound workers from the other. Pitches from startup companies raising money for the JVP fund will be made in this space when both parties do not come in direct physical contact.
Recently JVP was selected by New York City to establish the city’s International Cyber Center. The model for a return to work being implemented in Jerusalem will serve as a pilot for the New York Cyber Center, which is expected to reopen in the coming month. JVP in talks with New York City Municipality about reopening the center with a stringent standard and with the help of Israeli technologies.
About JVP
Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), founded and led by Dr. Erel Margalit, is an internationally renowned venture capital fund. JVP has to date raised $1.4 billion across nine funds, and has been listed numerous times by Preqin, and other rankings, as one of the top-ten consistently performing VC firms worldwide. JVP has built over 140 companies, leveraging a broad network of partners and market expertise to help companies become global market leaders. JVP was recently chosen by New York City and EDC to lead the cyber security cyber hub in NYC. Among the pioneering firms of the Israeli venture capital industry, JVP has been instrumental in building some of the largest companies out of Israel, facilitating 12 Initial Public Offerings on NASDAQ, including CyberArk Software (NASDAQ: CYBR, $4.7 billion mkt. cap.), QLIK Technologies (NASDAQ: QLIK, then $4 billion mkt. cap.) and Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI, $3 billion mkt. cap.) and more.