Canadian Venture Capital Fund Completes Additional Investment in Israeli High-tech Security Firm

The Awz HLS Fund invests $4.5 million in NanoLock Security

TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2017 /CNW/ - The Awz Homeland Security Fund (the "Fund"), a Canadian venture capital fund that invests exclusively in leading-edge Israeli cyber security, intelligence and physical security technology, today announced the completion of an additional investment, its third in the last quarter. The Fund, led by Yaron Ashkenazi, CEO of Awz HLS Fund, recently completed a US$4.5 million investment in Nanolock Security Inc., a company that specializes in protecting connected and Internet of Things ("IoT") devices against cyber security and malware attacks.

"Israel is recognized as one of the world's foremost leaders in cyber security and is commonly referred to as the 'start-up nation' for high-tech innovation," said Mr. Yaron Ashkenazi, Founder and CEO of the Awz HLS Fund. "There is a growing global need for Israel's powerhouse security capabilities and expertise. The strategy for our Fund is to invest in companies that are at the forefront of generating real solutions to the most challenging existing security threats."

In line with this strategy, last month, Awz HLS Fund announced a US$3.5 million investment in Siga Data Security Ltd., a company that develops cyber security technology that protects critical operating and control systems in the Operation Technology ("OT") space. Furthermore, in June, the Fund announced a US$5.25 million investment in Octopus Systems Ltd., a company that developed a cloud-based management platform that consolidates cyber security, logical and physical security elements.

Israeli high-tech is rightfully considered a leader in the development of integrated security solutions, and NanoLock is another example that offers a unique solution for IoT smart devices. The Fund has identified extraordinary technological advantages in NanoLock's solution, and it operates in a market potentially worth billions of dollars. The company's founders are leading cyber and technology professionals with proven capabilities in managing and developing exceptional businesses.

Upon the completion of the investment, Shlomo Oren, Chairman of NanoLock commented: "We are proud of Awz's confidence in the technological capabilities and business achievements of NanoLock in recent months. The transition from IT to OT and the arrival of billions of endpoint devices with limited computing resources on the one hand and severe security flaws on the other, creates a great demand from leading players in this field. NanoLock brings to the market an end-to-end solution that provides not only powerful protection of endpoint devices but also the required management capabilities. The company is currently investing efforts in working with leading companies from around the world."

NanoLock Security Inc.

NanoLock was founded in 2016 by Eran Fine, CEO and Shlomo Oren, Chairman. Eran Fine is an entrepreneur and senior manager with more than 18 years of international experience in founding, managing and leading high-tech companies. Previously, he was the Founder and CEO of OREE, which was subsequently sold to Diogano. He also served as CEO of MOBILSPEAR, and was a consultant for the nanotechnology centres of Tel Aviv University and the University of Tsinghua (Beijing).

Shlomo Oren, Chairman of NanoLock, has 45 years of experience in managing and leading companies in the field of microelectronics in Israel and abroad. Previously, he served in several positions including CEO of K & S Israel; President and CEO of Shellcase Ltd., which was subsequently sold to Tessera Inc.; CEO of Tech Transfer Corp. of Haifa University. Mr. Oren is also the active chairman of NanoAir Ltd. Among the company's entrepreneurs are Amir Sade, former CEO of GreenSQL, which was sold to HUAWEI of China, and former CEO of Onigma, which was sold to Intel; and Kevin Connelly, a former CTO of SanDisk.

NanoLock has developed a hardware and software based platform that can protect tens of billions of connected and IoT devices that are in constant threat from cyber and functional attacks. The technology developed by NanoLock enables maximum protection even for devices with limited resources, power and latency concerns, and continues to protect even in situations of local and infrastructure attacks. The company offers protection for IoT devices exposed to severe attacks that can take over the systems and cause significant economic damage.

The patent-protected, end-to-end solution prevents the ability to write malware to the operating system, while enabling highly secure software updates that serve privileged entities.

The company is in the midst of several pilot projects with leading companies in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. Last month it was announced that Nanolock won "GO IGNITE", a global competition offered by an alliance between Orange, Telefonica, SingTel and Deutsche Telekom.

Advocate Etti Koren, of Koren - Grodberg & Co. Law Offices, represented the Awz HLS Fund in Israel. Barbara Miller, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, represented the Awz HLS Fund in Canada. 

About Awz HLS Investment Fund I LP
Awz HLS Fund is a groundbreaking intelligence and security fund, founded by attorney Yaron Ashkenazi, a former Shin Bet security officer living in Toronto, Canada. The fund's executive team and advisory committee include a former Canadian federal Minister of Public Safety, former senior security and intelligence executives from Canadian and Israeli agencies, and global business and financial experts, among them: Chairman of the Advisory Board, Ed Sonshine, CEO of Canada's largest Real Estate Investment Trust, Riocan; Erez Kreiner, former Director of the National Information (Cyber) Security Authority under the Shin Bet; Haim Tomer, former Head of the Mossad Intelligence Division; Gary Barnea, the former Director of the Shin Bet Protection and Security Division; and Lt. Gen. (Ret) D. Michael Day, former commander of the Canadian Special Forces. Awz HLS Fund will invest up to $50 million in Israeli companies that have developed cutting-edge cyber security, intelligence and physical security technologies. The Fund will also invest in establishing subsidiaries in North America in collaboration with several of its investee companies.

SOURCE Awz Ventures Inc.