Despite ongoing fighting in Gaza and missile attacks from Yemen, the first half of 2025 marked the strongest period for private investment in Israeli high-tech in three years, according to a new report by Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), a nonprofit that supports Israel’s tech sector and connects local startups with global investors.
The data, drawn from SNC’s Finder business intelligence platform, showed Israeli tech firms raised $9.3 billion in private funding during the first six months of the year—a 54% increase from the second half of 2024. Although the number of funding rounds declined from 214 to 151, there was a notable jump in large-scale investments. Rounds exceeding $50 million rose from 20 to 32, reflecting growing investor confidence in mature, growth-ready companies.
One standout deal was the $2 billion raised by Safe Superintelligence (SSI), an artificial intelligence company founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, alongside Israeli-born entrepreneurs Daniel Gross and Daniel Levy. Though SSI is incorporated in the U.S. and has offices in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto, SNC classifies it as Israeli due to the founders’ origins and the company’s split R&D presence between the U.S. and Israel.
The leading sector in investment volume was enterprise software, which brought in $3.19 billion across 71 deals. It was followed by cybersecurity with $1.98 billion (56 deals) and fintech with $750 million (29 deals).
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However, the number of active investors in Israel declined to 447 in the first half of 2025, a 14% drop from the previous six months, according to the report.
A separate report published Monday by LeumiTech, the high-tech banking arm of Bank Leumi, and research firm IVC, highlighted growing investor interest in “defense-tech” amid the security situation. The first half of the year saw a noticeable uptick in funding to companies in that space.
Mergers and acquisitions also hit a record high, totaling $39.2 billion. This figure was driven primarily by Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz—further solidifying Israel’s global leadership in the sector. Other major deals included Next Insurance’s $2.6 billion sale and Melio’s $2.5 billion acquisition. The figures include both reported and undisclosed investment rounds.
“These figures show sustained investor confidence in Israeli tech, even amid complex security realities,” said SNC CEO Avi Hasson. “Just last month, during the escalation with Iran, 31 funding rounds were recorded—proof that founders continue to build, and investors continue to believe. Israeli technology, in its uniqueness and capability, remains a valuable global asset.”