A new venture capital fund has been set up in Israel to support startups developing dual use (civilian and defense) technologies. The move comes despite Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza and a new report showing a massive plunge in VC activity in Israel in 2023.
2i (Dual Impact) Ventures begins operations with an initial funding round raised from investors in Israel, the United States and Europe, and also aims to make civilian technologies accessible to the defense market.
The VC fund was created by leading Israeli investment house Altshuler Shaham, which is based in Tel Aviv, in conjunction with Moshe Weingarten, the CEO of Altshuler Shaham Global, and Ehud Hai, a former partner in Vintage Investment Partners‘ funds, which is headquartered in Herzliya.
Other partners include Gadot Group, an Israeli chemical company that co-owns Haifa Port, and veteran Israeli entrepreneur Dror Erez, co-founder and former VP Technology at Conduit international software company.
The fund has already signed a strategic partnership agreement with Israel’s Directorate of Defense, Research & Development (Maf’at), which is jointly owned by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
“Innovation never stops, and it further accelerates in challenging times such as these,” said the fund’s partners.
“Market corrections in the field of venture capital, together with increased investments in national security, represent significant opportunity for the fund, which offers unique perspective and value to technology ventures, together with its partners and side by side with other venture capital funds.”
