American VC Raises $650M To Invest In Israeli, European Startups

US venture capital firm Accel has closed a $650 million fund that will invest in “exceptional” early-stage startups in Israel and Europe. 

Accel’s eighth early-stage fund will focus on a VC market that it says is a little under half of the size of the US market. Some $66 billion was invested in Israeli and European early-stage companies in 2023 – compared to just $1 billion in investments in 2003. 

Furthermore, the company says, there are now more than 350 Israeli and European-founded unicorns (businesses with over $1 billion) that have been backed by venture capitalists. 

Accel itself has invested in dozens of Israeli startups, including Fiverr, Melio and Cyera. 

“Finding, building relationships and partnering with exceptional founders regardless of where they are located has always been in our DNA,” said Harry Nelis, a partner in the Silicon Valley-based firm. 

“Our belief almost 25 years ago that Europe and Israel’s entrepreneurs had the vision and ambition to create global, category-defining companies has ensured we’ve been fortunate enough to partner with many of the region’s iconic companies over several technology cycles,” Nelis said. 

“Our capillary networks cultivated over more than two decades ensure our team has a deep knowledge of the region. With Europe and Israel producing exceptional talent in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, fintech and the modern data stack, we’re looking forward to supporting the next generation of founders.”