Israeli venture capitalist Carmel Ventures has closed a US$194 million financing round for its new investment fund Carmel Ventures IV from a consortium that includes search giant Baidu, Qihoo 360, the Chinese online security and Internet service provider, and financial conglomerate Ping-An. Both Israeli and Chinese tech industry remain looking up to the U.S. market. Carmel Ventures, part of Israeli private equity group Viola, manages over US$800 million in venture capital and is invested in 35 active companies. Carmel Ventures IV is focused on early-stage tech companies in enterprise software, data center infrastructure, big data, cyber security, financial technology, digital media and consumer applications. image credit: Carmel Ventures