Israeli high-tech entrepreneur Liron Petrushka and his wife, Naomi, died in a plane crash near Tahoe Truckee Airport in Northern California during a snowstorm Saturday night.
Authorities confirmed that there were no survivors, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation. The aircraft involved in the crash was a single-engine turboprop plane that had departed from Centennial Airport in Colorado on Saturday afternoon.
Liron and Naomi were prominent figures in the Israeli tech industry and had been residing in California for several years. Their notable investments included Check, which was acquired by financial giant Intuit in 2014 for approximately $360 million, and fintech unicorn Next Insurance, co-founded by the entrepreneurs behind Check.
Additionally, the Petrushkas were investors in venture capital firm UpWest which focuses on Israeli-led startups in the United States and Israel.
In 1999, they successfully sold their company CommerceBid, which they had founded, for over $200 million. Following the acquisition, they continued to work with the buyer, CommerceOne, for approximately two years.
Liron Petrushka had previously played for Israeli soccer outfit Hapoel Ramat Gan.