LionBird adds strategic digital health LP for its third fund

Company announces TELUS Ventures as an investor in LionBird III

TEL AVIV – October 18, 2021 – LionBird, a venture capital firm based in Tel Aviv and Chicago, investing in pre-scale digital health companies ., today announced TELUS Ventures as a strategic limited partner in its third fund, LionBird III.

“We’re looking forward to leveraging TELUS Ventures’ strong healthcare assets to accelerate our portfolio companies as they enter key markets in North America,” said Jonathan Friedman, partner at LionBird. “With TELUS Ventures, we will be able to strengthen our value proposition of helping startups with navigating a complex healthcare market and with connecting to the right stakeholders early.

”Founded in 2012 by veteran entrepreneurs and Fortune 100 executives in the software and healthcare industries, LionBird has developed an investment strategy around pre-scale digital health startups that are re-engineering healthcare’s status quo. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shed a bright light on deficiencies in the healthcare system, and the increased role that digital health, including telemedicine, can play in addressing many of those shortcomings. With investment teams in the U.S. and Israel, as well as extensive experience assisting teams in setting up commercial operations in the U.S. market, LionBird is uniquely positioned to leverage this inflection point in digital health, particularly with its strong presence in Israel’s digital health startup ecosystem.

During the first quarter of this year, Israeli digital health companies raised nearly $700 million – 85 per cent of the total funding amount in the same sector for all of 2020 – according to data from Start-Up Nation Central, a nonprofit that tracks Israel’s tech industry. Nearly 60 per cent of LionBird’s existing portfolio companies started their operations in Israel which, for decades,has been considered globally leading in healthcare technologies - a point not lost on TELUS Ventures. TELUS Ventures hopes to broaden its exposure to Israel’s highly integrated digital health market and uncover future strategic investment opportunities.

“TELUS Ventures is investing at the forefront of digital health technologies to help create a healthier future for everyone,” said Mario Mele, VP Corporate Strategy, TELUS Ventures. “As the leading digital health seed stage fund based out of Israel, LionBird has demonstrated a strong track record of innovation which offers us an opportunity to increase engagement with the local ecosystem and help bring the latest technological advances in healthcare to Canada.

”As the strategic investment arm of Canadian telecommunications and health technology company, TELUS Corporation, TELUS Ventures brings significant value-add to the LionBird III fund. Together, the firms’ complementary venture skill sets, networks, and expertise will reinforce their ability to collectively assist their portfolio founders and teams in laying the best foundation for scale and success.

To learn more about LionBird or to contact the team, visit www.lionbird.com

About LionBird

LionBird is a venture capital firm investing in pre-scale digital health companies with operations in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Founded in 2012 by veteran entrepreneurs and Fortune 100 executives in the software and healthcare industries, LionBird provides pre-scale capital and assistance to mission-driven teams re- 2Confidential © 2021 LionBird III L.P. a Cayman Islands Limited Partnershipengineering the healthcare status quo. Since its inception, the firm has invested in more than 30 founding teams across the U.S. and Israel. The firm is currently investing out of its third fund, LionBird III, exclusively focused on early stage digital health.

About TELUS Ventures

As the strategic investment arm of TELUS Corporation (TSX: T, NYSE: TU), TELUS Ventures is one of Canada's most active corporate venture capital funds. TELUS Ventures invests globally in companies from Seed to Pre-IPO with a focus on innovative technologies such as AgTech, HealthTech, Connected Consumer, IoT, AI, and Security to actively drive new solutions across the TELUS ecosystem. Led by a team of experienced operators, investors and executives, the Ventures team is passionate about creating positive social impact through financial tools and has invested in more than 90 companies since inception.

For more information please visit telus.com/en/ventures.

Media Contacts

LionBird Contact:

Sasha Hayman

Investor Relations Director, LionBird

Tel: 847-840-8951

Email: [email protected]

TELUS Contact:

Jill Yetman

TELUS Public Relations

Tel: 416-992-2639

Email: [email protected]