2025 VC Survey“I foresee one of the best decades in the history of the State of Israel”
2025 VC Survey
“I foresee one of the best decades in the history of the State of Israel”
TAU Ventures’ Nimrod Cohen has joined CTech for its 2025 VC Survey to share insights on how Israeli tech will evolve in the year ahead.
“From my perspective, I anticipate that 2025 will be the beginning of a turnaround - above all, we hope that the hostages will be released and the new security reality in the Middle East will give investors confidence to pour significant funds into Israel,” says Nimrod Cohen, Managing Partner at TAU Ventures. “I am full of hope that internally we will also know how to maintain unity and establish a government that reflects the will of the majority of the people, regardless of right or left.”
As 2024 comes to an end, many questions about Israel’s status are still unclear: How and when will the war come to an end? Can its poltical climate become more stable? How will new American leadership impact the country? As we enter 2025, Cohen remains positive that only a few pieces of the domino set need to fall into place for long-lasting unity.
“The moment these two parameters align, alongside normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, and a significant wave of immigration of Jews from around the world - I foresee one of the best decades in the history of the State of Israel,” he said.
You can read the full interview below.
Fund ID
Name of fund/funds: TAU Ventures
Total sum of the fund: $70M
Partners: Nimrod Cohen, Inbal Perlman
Notable/select portfolio companies (active): Xtend, Swimm, Cyabra, InnerPlant
Notable exits: (secondary previous hat – YOTPO, Snyk, WSC Sports, Coralogix, Bringg)
2024 is almost over. How can you summarize it in terms of the Israeli high-tech industry?
The year 2024 was difficult in many respects. First, on a personal level for each of us due to the obvious reasons, and also professionally - almost every company has part of its employees serving, and still serving, in reserve duty, less money is flowing into the market, foreign investors are hesitant to invest in an area of war and political instability. As a result, startups are struggling to progress.
On the optimistic side, despite all of the above, we see companies that manage to advance and grow, and even raise impressive follow-on funding rounds.
The bottom line is that very good companies manage to raise funds and progress, while companies that have not yet broken through are encountering significant difficulties and even face the risk of closure.
Looking ahead to 2025: What challenges and opportunities await the Israeli high-tech sector in the coming year, and how are you, as investors, preparing for them?
From my perspective, I anticipate that 2025 will be the beginning of a turnaround - above all, we hope that the hostages will be released and the new security reality in the Middle East will give investors confidence to pour significant funds into Israel. I am full of hope that internally we will also know how to maintain unity and establish a government that reflects the will of the majority of the people, regardless of right or left.
The moment these two parameters align, alongside normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, and a significant wave of immigration of Jews from around the world - I foresee one of the best decades in the history of the State of Israel.
How will new American leadership affect the global high-tech industry or economy? And where does this place Israel and its entrepreneurs?
On paper, Trump's election appears likely to provide a positive boost to Israel, first and foremost on the security front, and as a result, in the business realm as well. We have already learned that what we expect is not always what we get, but in this context, I tend towards the optimistic side and think that this will constitute an additional parameter in pushing the industry upward.
What are the three most important things the Israeli government should do today to accelerate the high-tech engine in the coming year?
- Maintain Israel as a liberal and democratic state and avoid actions that undermine this.
- Create equality in burden-sharing among different segments of the population, ensuring that a relatively small part does not bear the economic and security burden alone.
- Get rid of extremist elements that seem to have the sole purpose of sowing division.
Are there new sectors you see as relevant? Are there any fields you anticipate will weaken significantly in the coming year?
Cyber will continue to lead and will be joined by defense technologies and, of course, everything related to AI.
Is Israel missing out on the AI revolution in the global arms race? If not, what should the local industry focus on to join the global race?
In certain layers of the AI world, we are behind and probably won't be able to catch up to the leadership, however, if we pull ourselves together quickly, we can create leadership in other areas of AI where we have the people, knowledge, and capabilities.
Could the global IPO drought end in the coming year?
I believe that towards the end of 2025, we will see the beginning (even if slow) of a recovery in the IPO world.
From an investor's perspective: will the coming year be better for early-stage startups or more mature companies?
It will be better.
Did you raise fund money in 2024 for an existing fund or a new one? What are your expectations regarding this matter for 2025?
Yes. It is very difficult to raise funds during this period, but those who succeed will stand before extraordinary opportunities in the foreseeable future.
How many investments did you make in 2024, and how does it compare to previous years?
We completed five investments, similar to 2023.
Provide an example of an intriguing investment you made in 2024. What sets this company apart, or what is distinctive about its sector?
Unfortunately, these investments are still in stealth mode so we can’t talk about them.
Two notable companies that you think will thrive in 2025:
Company Name: Xtend
Sector + description: Drones/Defense tech
Investment amount + total: $2M
Founding Year: 2018
Reasoning why this is their year: After several years in which the company achieved numerous technological and business successes that positioned it as a leader in its field, the company made a significant leap in 2024 as a result of the war in Israel and the equipping of many organizations around the world, and it seems that 2025 will propel the company several levels forward.
Company Name: Finout
Sector + description: Sector Cloud / Infrastructure. Finout helps FinOps, DevOps, and Finance to manage & reduce cloud spend and improve the company's profitability without adding code or changing existing tags.
Investment amount + total: $45 million
Founding Year: 2021
Reasoning why this is their year: Global cloud spending hit $82 billion in Q3 2024, a 21% YoY rise fueled by AI and scalable solutions. Simultaneously, FinOps adoption surged, with 82% of organizations formalizing teams—44% within the last year.
This shift toward cost governance aligned with Finout's value proposition. With its single pane of glass and cost allocation solution, Finout enabled detailed spend analysis, advanced forecasting, and company wide FinOps adoption.
