Guangzhou Sino-Israel Biotech Investment Fund (GIBF) recently completed a $ 4 million investment in the Israeli subsidiary of Kornit Vision, which was established in Guangzhou, China.

The purpose of the investment is to expand the activity of the Israeli Thyme Vision to the Chinese market, an activity that includes, among other things, a series of clinical trials, the establishment of a production line and the distribution of the company's first two implants in the local market. The flagship product of the Thyme Vision company is a groundbreaking artificial corneal implant that returns sight to the blind.

The implant, which can be taught to be transplanted in a relatively short time, will address the intense need in the Chinese market, where there are over five million blind people with a corneal background and only about 5-8 thousand corneal transplants a year.

With the closing of the investment, Dr. Shuki Glaitman, a partner in the GIBF Foundation, said, “We are pleased to take part in the unique activity of Thyme Vision, and believe that the groundbreaking technology that the company is developing and promoting is a real revolution in medical implants.
This technology will enable the development of a wide range of safer, more reliable, long-lasting and easier-to-treat implants than existing alternatives. The need among the Chinese market for implants that the company has developed so far is clear and can change the quality of life of millions of people. "
Kornit Vision CEO Almog Ali-Raz added, "The combination of the support package provided by GIBF to companies starting operations in China, together with the unique transaction structure, is optimal. The fact that we can meet with fund managers in the country while neutralizing cultural gaps allows for an open discussion and finding quick and effective solutions.

GIBF's accumulated knowledge and experience in the Chinese market as well as the Foundation's deep acquaintance with relevant key personnel, suppliers, opinion leaders and hospitals provides a significant advantage to companies in the medical field seeking to expand their activities to the Chinese market. "
Thyme Vision is a pioneering company in the field of medical implants. The company was founded in 2015 by Dr. Gilad Litvin and entrepreneur Almog Ali-Raz, and has since successfully developed a number of medical implants based on unique material technology that allows the integration of implants with body tissue without a foreign body response.

Thyme Vision's unique platform enables physical connection of implants to tissues, encryption of implants and sensors, repair and softening of permanent tissues on an ongoing basis, as well as the production of membranes that separate different complexes in the human body.

The company's technology is expected to replace the use of biological tissues from organ and animal donations used in a variety of surgical procedures. Cornish Vision recently made headlines when it returned evidence to a blind man on a corneal background with the start of clinical research of the company's flagship product, the artificial cornea (CorNeat KPro).

At the end of the year, the company, with the support of GIBF, plans to expand the clinical trials conducted by the company to a number of medical centers in China.

GIBF is an Israeli-Chinese investment fund that has been operating in the medical field since 2016, led by Dr. Shuki Glaitman, Prof. Shlomo Noy, Avner Lushi and Carl Gang. The fund recently raised $ 300 million (2 billion yuan) as a second fund and added two partners to its ranks. The fund was established in collaboration with the government of Guangzhou, the third most important city in China and the capital of southern China.

The most unique feature of the fund for the Israeli companies in which it invests is that although it is a Chinese fund with a government affiliation, the fund is managed by Israeli partners, which is a clear advantage for Israeli entrepreneurs.

In addition, GIBF is the only Chinese foreign-managed fund licensed by the Chinese Securities Authority to make private equity investments. Although the fund's investments are made directly in Chinese companies, GIBF's investment model allows for structural flexibility to the extent that the Israeli parent company makes an exit in the West.