UpWest Labs Launches New $18M Fund To Bring Israeli Entrepreneurs To US

February 22, 2018 | Palo Alto-based venture firm UpWest Labs announced last week that it raised $18 million for a new fund, UpWest Fund III, aimed at attracting Israeli startups in their seed or early-seed stages to the US for “product validation and customer momentum.” UpWest Labs says it will work with a select group of founders in their early stages to provide market insights and enough financial backing to start gaining US customers. UpWest Labs was among the first investors in dozens of Israeli startups, including SentinelOne, Airobotics, Honeybook, and CyberX. UpWest founders Shuly Galili and Gil Ben-Artzy tell TechCrunch that they target at least eight percent ownership at the outset. They also say they love to partner with startups “at a frighteningly early stage” where little more than a prototype may exist. The firm says it has “the largest portfolio of Israeli startups headquartered in the US.”