Former Vice President Al Gore may have his hands full dealing with ongoing controversies arising from climategate, but his “green” venture capital fund is up to productive work: It just announced $10 million in funding for GreenRoad Technologies, an Israeli start-up company with technology that promotes safe driving.
Gore’s cleantech fund Generation Investment Management LLP announced the funding this week, joining other funders, including Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Green Ventures, Israeli business daily Globes reported Monday.
Founded in 2002, GreenRoad technology helps “drivers and fleets to reduce crashes, improve fuel economy and reduce overall vehicle operating costs,” according to the company’s website.
The company says that customers can realize a 50 percent reduction in accident-related costs and a 10 percent reduction in gas usage in the first year, Globes reported:
Like many Israeli high-tech firms, GreenRoad is headquartered near San Francisco but its research and development center is in Or Yehuda, a city near Tel Aviv. It also has sales offices throughout the US and UK.
Many firms choose to move headquarters overseas due to Israel’s prohibitively high taxes and difficult bureaucracy, but keep their research and development divisions in Israel.
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