From LATAM to Israel: LIP Ventures' $90 million leap into Startup Nation
From LATAM to Israel: LIP Ventures' $90 million leap into Startup Nation
The VC fund helps Latin American investors and family offices invest in Israeli tech: “Innovation can bring us as humanity to a better point.”
As the Americas are hit with swirling news of tariffs, LIP Ventures is doubling down on its approach to find the best and brightest new companies across the ocean in the Middle East. Most notable are its efforts to invest heavily in Startup Nation, a tech region the VC firm admits has seen challenges but called “past the bottom and on the way up” to prosperity in the next five years.
With $90 million in the bank from a group of 200 high-net-worth individuals and family offices across Latin America, the VC is helping connect the two regions by raising investment in Israel, boosting its talent force, and helping Israeli entrepreneurs be exposed to the LATAM region.
“From a business and technological perspective, everyone has in mind that Israel is a top five in terms of technology hubs,” said Nathan Shabot, Managing Partner at LIP Ventures. “It's really easy to invest in startups in Israel: You go to any Aroma and someone is sitting next to you with a technology company - but the main question is how do you invest in a top-tier company? That's where we fill that gap of value.”
Leapfrog Innovation Powerhouse (LIP) Ventures is run by Shabot and Managing Partner Mario Nissan, a former CEO and co-founder of Flock, alongside Partner & Head of Israel Alan Weisleder, a Costa Rica native who’s lived his adult life in Israel and spent five years at OurCrowd as Partner and Executive Vice President, Investor Relations. It has a sector-agnostic second fund of $90 million to invest $3-4 million in early growth companies, usually ones with annual revenues ranging between $5-15 million. The idea is that they connect overseas investors with Israeli talent and technology to help them grow (or ‘leapfrog’) their businesses and help drive revenue through an extensive network across Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.
“It's not about the know-how, it's about the know-who - and we know who,” added Weisleder, who before joining LIP spent 18 years in executive management positions at startup companies in Israel and California. Roughly two-thirds of the fund will be dedicated to Israeli tech companies with the remaining one-third being allocated to Europe and the United States. To date, the VC has invested alongside partners like JVP, Insight Partners, and Viola in companies like Bluewhite, Kando, Thetaray, and Biocatch.
While Latin America’s tech startup ecosystem has seen impressive expansion - growing 30% annually driven by more venture capital and new markets opening up - Brazil’s São Paulo is the only Latin American ecosystem among the 30 largest in the world (in 27th place) with a value of $113 billion and 11 unicorns. Shabot emphasizes that the Spanish-speaking countries in the region like Mexico, Chile, and Colombia are robust in helping enable businesses to grow and expand their core technologies.
Given the geopolitical shake-up with the USA’s threat of tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and the EU, LIP Ventures is even more bullish on the Israeli tech scene as a safe bet for investment. Weisleder described the ecosystem as being in a “local minimum” and not the end of the story. “It's going to turn around. It's already turning around and it's the best time to put money in because when we get out in five years it's going to be a whole more rosy environment and that's good for valuations.”
Indeed signs are looking up. In January 2025, Startup Nation raised $621 million across 27 deals, with 18 of those either Series A or Seed rounds. This marks a 30% increase compared to the same time in 2024 and is beginning to match similar pre-war rounds last seen in 2022. “I think things are going to be continuously improving over the next 3-4 years,” Weisleder added. “I think we're past the bottom and we're on the way up… It is probably one of the best times to invest. I think five years from now will be an excellent time to exit.”
Shabot echoed the optimism seen in the U.S., which usually remains closely tied to Israeli tech. He pointed to rising M&A activity as a positive indicator of future prosperity, even as LATAM investors feel increased pressure from President Trump’s tariffs. “When you see that tariffs could be imposed, you don't see where the exchange rate will be, what will happen to the business, and more,” he said. “I would say that in the next 2-3 months, we will better understand what the lifetime appetite for venture capital will be. And it's also really related to how the geopolitical landscape will shape up.”
LIP Ventures also works on bringing investors from LATAM into Israel, so they can see for themselves the vibe of Startup Nation and how it differs from other parts of the world. Ideally every year, delegations of up to 70 people arrive in Israel to meet with the companies that received investments, speak to the CEOs, and understand the visions of the company. “It's not just about financial returns. We really want them to feel where we believe the world is going and, have a very interesting positive perspective of the future of the world.”
In 2021, LIP Ventures also voluntarily collaborated with Sheba Medical Center and launched its Mexico chapter, aiming to facilitate access to medical technology, support the development of healthcare innovations, and foster collaboration between professionals and institutions from both countries.
“It's about investing in three things that I truly believe in,” concludes Shabot. “One is talent, the magnificence of human beings; the second one is those amazing moments when you see huge advances in science. And the third is that I truly believe that innovation can bring us as humanity to a better point from a social impact standpoint.”
