Israel Secondary Fund Raises $312M For Israeli High-Tech Market

Israeli private equity firm Israel Secondary Fund (ISF), announced this week that it has completed raising a third investment fund totaling $312 million to financially support the Israeli high-tech market through secondary transactions and liquidity. 

A number of Israel’s prominent institutional investors such as Migdal Insurance, Altshuler Shaham, Bank Hapoalim, as well as several American and European-based institutions, pension funds, endowments, and family offices participated in the fundraising.

Established in 2008 by Dror Glass and Shmuel Shilo, ISF is a tech-focused secondary fund that provides liquidity in the private tech market and acquires holdings in private companies and venture capital funds. ISF currently manages more than $500 million of secondary transactions in Israel’s tech market. The firm’s target audience includes entrepreneurs, investors, and employees who hold shares in companies as well as limited partner stakes in funds. ISF has invested both directly and indirectly in 220 companies to date, a portfolio that includes both companies and funds such as MyHeritage, Aidoc, Innovid, Pixellot, Earnix, Papaya Gaming, Verbit, and Waze, among others. 

“ISF has played a crucial role in turning the secondary market into a premium market,” said Nir Linchevski, managing partner at ISF. “The path of a start-up towards a significant exit may take ten years or more. Allowing entrepreneurs, employees, and investors to realize significant value along the way, and not just at the endgame, enables them to enjoy the fruits of their labor at an earlier stage while company’s management remains focused on long-term growth. Our model ensures that all parties––investors, companies, and employees––profit, which is key to continued market growth.”

“In recent years, ISF led over 80 secondary transactions in start-up companies and venture funds,” said Dror Glass, managing partner and founder of ISF. “The timing of the current fundraising is particularly significant, considering the shifting market trend after a decade of unprecedented growth. We expect the demand for secondary transactions and liquidity to increase significantly, especially given the growing uncertainty in the high tech industry and possible delays of IPOs and acquisitions.” 

“ISF is a leader in the global tech-secondaries market, and we believe that with our new fund, we will play a central role in the local investments sphere,” Glass added.  “Our guiding principle is reaching a Win-Win-Win deal for the seller, for ISF, and above all – for the company and its employees.”