We at SemantiNet, see ourselves as an innovative company with a revolutionary product. We are proud to be
funded and supported by a leading Israeli VC and a group of internationally acclaimed individuals, who will
help us turn our vision into reality.
Giza Venture Capital established in 1992, is a pioneer investor in seed and early-stage technology companies. Giza currently manages four funds totaling about $500 million. Giza has investment professionals with a wealth of expertise and experience in Communications, Semiconductors, Information Technology, Enterprise Software, Life Sciences, CleanTech, Media, Internet, Gaming & Entertainment. Giza has invested in 82 companies in the sectors of Communications, Information Technology, Enterprise Software and Life Sciences, with 31 exits. Giza's vision in recognizing future technology leaders led to the following winning investments; Actimize (acquired by NICE Systems), Prosight (acquired by Primavera Systems), Olplus (acquired by Intel), Cyota (acquired by RSA), X Technologies (acquired by Guidant), Precise (NASDAQ:PRSE, acquired by Veritas), Oridion (SWX:ORIDN), Zoran (NASDAQ:ZRAN), M-Systems (NASDAQ:FLSH), DSPG (NASDAQ:DSPG), Butterfly (acquired by TI), DSPC (acquired by Intel), Libit (acquired by TI), Scorpio (acquired by US Robotics) and Telegate (acquired by Terayon).
Joseph "Yossi" Vardi is chairman of International Technologies, which is engaged in private hi-tech investments for its own account. He is one if Israel’s hi-tech veterans, with 37 years of founding and helping build some 40 hi tech companies in Internet, software, telecommunications, electro-optics, energy, environment and other areas. Several companies Dr Vardi co-founded became successful public companies, among them Alon — Israel’s largest energy company, Advanced Technologies (Tekem — which was at a time the largest software company in Israel), International Technologies (Lasers), and Granite Hacarmel. Dr Vardi backed some of Israel’s leading internet companies. He is the founding investor and the former chairman of Mirabilis Ltd, the creator of the highly popular instant messaging program ICQ which pioneered the internet-wide instant messaging phenomena, making it one of the most successful and popular Internet products of all times, with currently close to 400 million downloads. The company was acquired by AOL, to which he still serves as an advisor. He also serves as a strategic adviser to Amazon and AOL. Among his other recent High-Tech involvements he was involved in the creation of Answers.com, tis the first investor in Download Accelerator, which has over 125 million regisered users and delivers millions of files daily, an early investor in Gteko which was sold to Microsoft, in Airlink — a manufacturer of wireless data links, Scopus, BrightCove and number of other companies. He is a venture partner and one of the initiators of Pitango — one of Israel’s largest venture capital fund., and on the advisory committee of 3i . He is a member of the board of Amdocs.
Ronald Cohen is a founder of the private-equity industry in Europe and one of the world's leading private-equity investors. At the age of 26, after a successful academic career at Oxford University and Harvard Business School, he co-founded the firm that became Apax Partners. When he stepped down from the chairmanship thirty-three years later, Apax was the largest global private-equity firm based in Europe, with an impressive investment record, more than $20 billion under management, offices in eight countries, and more than 300 staff. Ronald Cohen is chairman of Bridges Ventures and The Portland Trust, which seek to provide private-sector, commercial solutions to problems of social deprivation in Britain and to conflict in the Middle East. He is chairman of the Social Investment Task Force and of the Commission on Unclaimed Assets. He is a trustee of the British Museum and of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is also chairman of Portland Capital, an investment management firm. A recipient of the British Venture Capital Association's Hall of Fame award and the Harvard Business School's Alumni Achievement Award, he is also an honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College. He was knighted in 2001 for his services to venture capital.
Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP communications and innovation, Mr. Pulver is a globally renowned thought leader, author and entrepreneur. His blog is well read within the IP Communications Industry and in high-tech communities around the world. He is the publisher of The Pulver Report and VON Magazine and creator of the industry standard Voice on the Net (VON) events, where all sectors of IP communications come together to discuss, debate, and advance the industry. Additionally, Mr. Pulver is the founder of pulvermedia, FWD, the VON Coalition, Network2, Vivox and is the co-founder of Abbey Corps and VoIP provider, Vonage.
Robert Imershein is an active investor and member of three non-profit boards. He was a Managing Director and one of the founding partners of Capstar Partners, LLC, prior to its purchase by BNP Paribas. Capstar Partners was an investment banking boutique that specialized in domestic and cross-border leveraged leasing with specific expertise in developing unique financing solutions utilizing tax-advantaged structures. Prior to forming Capstar Partners in 1990, Mr. Imershein worked for six years at Bankers Trust Company. Robert received his BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and earned his MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.
Mr. Ben-Shach is a prominent Israeli businessman and an active investor in various Israeli companies. Most notably, Mr. Ben-Shach is recognized as a leading figure in Israel Energy Industry. In 1993, after managing his family business for 15 years, Mr. Ben-Sach executed a merger with Israel’s largest LPG Company (“Paz-Gaz,” “a subsidiary of “Paz Oil Company”). After serving for four years as the CEO of the merged entity, Mr. Ben-Shach was appointed as the CEO of the Ultimate Parent Company, a position he held for more than 10 years. During his time at Paz Oil Company, Moudi successfully led many innovative initiatives, and in 2006 Paz went public at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. During the course of his working career, Moudi also served as a Director of the Company, as well as Chairman of the Board for numerous subsidiaries.