Team8 Launches New Fintech Venture With Ex-Bank CEO, Israeli Entrepreneurs

Team8, the Israeli cybersecurity think tank and company creation platform, announced the launch of Team8 Fintech, a new venture vehicle focusing on the founding and scaling of transformative fintech startups.

Team8 Fintech will be led by a slew of experienced Israeli fintech players including Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, a former president and CEO of Israel’s largest bank, Leumi Group, Yuval Tal, founder and president of Israeli payment solutions company Payoneer, and Ronen Assia, former chief product officer of social trading network and multi-asset brokerage company eToro. Galia Beer-Gabel, former head of business development for PayPal across Eastern Europe, Israel, and Africa, is also joining Team8 Fintech as part of the founding team.

Team8 Fintech will aim to create and back both B2B (business to business) and B2B2C (business to business to consumer) companies that empower industry players with new technologies and new business offerings to ensure they stay relevant and gain a competitive advantage, according to a Team8 announcement

Team8 plans to leverage its unique company-building methodology and expertise across data, AI, cybersecurity, and privacy for the new fintech foundry, the company said in a statement. While partnering with successful entrepreneurs, they will also leverage the Team8 Village, a rich ecosystem of corporate executives and investors that provide an insider’s view into enterprise challenges and fintech opportunities.

The foundry will build companies that enable incumbents “to hyper scale their digital transformation,” Team8 said, and work with established fintech companies typically offering niche solutions to create startups that “enhance value propositions with more diverse and robust capabilities and broaden business models.” It will also target non-financial companies with significant customer bases and relevant customer touchpoints where a financial service offering could be beneficial.

“The financial industry is facing a perfect storm, with inevitable changes and advancements already underway,” said Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Founder of Team8 Fintech. Understanding the challenges and complexities of incumbents or other enterprises to innovate from within, my passion is to build the type of companies I would have wanted to collaborate with in my previous role as CEO of a bank. I see great opportunities in leveraging new technologies to completely reinvent financial services, drive efficiency and improve customer experience.

“Financial services are first and foremost about trust,” said Team8’s co-founder Nadav Zafrir. “To make them more efficient, available, and ultimately fair, digital trust is paramount. And digital trust is dependent on cybersecurity and privacy – a natural habitat for Team8. Assembling this all-star team is a rare event and is gearing us with the talent, gravitas, and exceptional leadership skills to build transformative fintech companies. This cements another important milestone in Team8’s journey as we expand our foundry model and become a multi-sector venture group.”