Israel’s Team8 Launches New Venture Arm, Raises $104M

Israeli cybersecurity think tank and company creation platform Team8 has launched Team8 Capital, a new venture capital vehicle leading investments in enterprise technology startups across various domains.

The venture capital arm will focus on data, AI, and cybersecurity, the company said. Team8 Capital will invest in seed, Series A, and Series B rounds of funding, expanding on Team8’s model that builds new companies from scratch.

The new fund has already raised $104 million in commitments, according to an April filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Israeli financial daily Globes reported.

Sarit Firon joins Team8 as Managing Partner of Team8 Capital and will be joined by Managing Partner and Team8 co-founder Liran Grinberg.

Founded in 2014, Team8 is a cybersecurity think tank and startup foundry led by Nadav Zafrir, former chief of Unit 8200, who founded the company with other former IDF intelligence unit 8200 leaders Israel Grinberg and Liran Grinberg. Backed by strategic investors including Walmart, Microsoft, Cisco, Barclays, and others, Team8 has pioneered a signature foundry model of creating new technology companies by identifying big problems that companies face, ideating novel solutions to solve them and supporting startup progression to success.

Last November, Team8 announced that it would partner with New York City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to boost the city’s cybersecurity sector through its Cyber NYC initiative.

Team8 employs an in-house team of forty across its New York and Tel Aviv headquarters. The group has also formed Team 8 Village, a community comprising hundreds of C-level executives from leading global corporates who undertake an active role in Team8’s company building process.

“More than ever before, connectivity and trust in our digital infrastructure are top-of-mind for enterprises as they steer through these unprecedented times,” said Firon, “Leveraging our ability to provide entrepreneurs with deep domain expertise, wealth of company-building experience and real value-add capabilities in go-to-market and talent hiring, Team8 Capital is uniquely positioned to partner with the best founders and help scale the next winners to build our all-digital futures. “