Venture capital firms in Israel and the US have launched an emergency fund to aid early-stage Israeli startups directly impacted by the country’s current war with Hamas.
The TechShield Operation will provide dozens of Israeli startups with capital until March 2025, providing assistance for at least 15 months.
Each eligible startup can receive up to $5 million in funding. To qualify, the startups need to have been directly impacted by the war, either with its founders or staff called to reserve military duty, slower operations due to workforce shortages, or other constraints.
The companies must also have previously gone through at least a seed or Series A round of funding, and have at least three active clients.
Investors can choose to provide as little as $25,000 or as much as $5 million for each eligible startup.
The VC firms who created the fund include Israel’s Sarona Ventures and fundit and Colorado-based Ibex Investors.
The Israeli tech sector has been known to display resilience in the immediate aftermath of war. After the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel saw a surge in venture capital financing, with investments skyrocketing to $1.76 billion by 2007.
Similarly, Israeli startups raised a record-breaking $4.43 billion following the 2014 conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
“Israel has one of the most advanced technology and innovation hubs in the entire world, it is the most important driver of the Israeli economy comprising almost 30% of the country’s GDP,” said Toot Shani, managing partner at Sarona Ventures.
“As investors, we recognize pivotal moments. As history has already proven many times, the Israeli market is immune and has the ability to recover extremely quickly, therefore, this is the right time to enter the market,” she said.
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