Team8, a global venture fund with $1.5 billion in assets under management, hosted its annual Village Week this week in New York, drawing more than 400 executives, founders, investors and industry leaders to discussions on how artificial intelligence is transforming sectors including retail, financial services, healthcare, cybersecurity and enterprise technology.
The summit opened with a landmark conversation between Team8 Chairman Yuval Shachar and Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, marking McMillon’s final public dialogue with Team8 leaders as he concludes his influential tenure at the helm of the world’s largest retailer.
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Attendees listen to a fireside chat during Team8’s annual Village Week summit in New York, which brought together global executives, founders and investors to explore the future of AI-driven innovation
(Photo: Team8)
Their wide-ranging discussion touched on new economic realities in retail and e-commerce, the influence of AI agents on consumer behavior and the strategic foundations companies must establish to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world. McMillon also reflected on Walmart’s longstanding collaboration with the Israeli tech ecosystem and with Team8.
Another featured session brought together Robin Vince, CEO of BNY Mellon, and Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Team8 managing partner and a director on BNY Mellon’s board. Vince spoke candidly about the existential imperative of adopting AI across enterprises, warning that companies that fail to embrace the technology “will simply not survive.” He highlighted BNY Mellon’s proprietary AI platform, Eliza, which is integrated with major large language models and has empowered employees to create their own AI agents, creating a new generation of “digital employees.” Vince said the defining leadership challenge of this era is mental agility — the capacity to adapt, learn and evolve rapidly.
Team8 also presented its annual performance to its global limited partners, reporting one of its strongest years since inception. Over the past year, the fund launched 15 new companies and brought together 55 new founders across cybersecurity, fintech, digital health, enterprise software and AI. Team8’s venture creation model, which has now built 30 companies from the ground up, involves close collaboration with entrepreneurs to shape ideas, validate markets, design go-to-market strategies and establish operational foundations.
In addition, the fund announced 33 new investments across Seed, Series A and Series B stages, reinforcing its position as one of Israel’s most active venture platforms. Team8 unveiled its evolved brand identity — Success by Design — expressing its belief that world-changing companies are built through precision, insight and deliberate creativity.
“We are entering a moment where expertise, clarity and design matter more than ever,” Shachar said. “Great companies are built when deep understanding meets disciplined creativity. Team8 exists to bring that design to life — to build ventures that stand the test of time, not by chance but by intention.”
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Executives and partners gather for a group photo during Team8’s Village Week in New York, celebrating the venture fund’s Success by Design platform and record year in company creation and investment
(Photo: Team8)
He added that the summit underscored how AI-driven strategy, disciplined company building and global connectivity will define the next generation of market leaders, and that Team8’s integrated model and network are uniquely positioned to help founders shape the future.
Team8 also reported a strong funding year for its portfolio companies, which have collectively raised $762 million in 2025 from leading global venture capital firms and major enterprise investment funds. The level of capital reflects rising global demand for the technologies developed by Team8-backed companies.
A key engine behind that success is the Team8 Village, a global community of enterprise leaders, CISOs, technologists and domain experts supported by a 90-person internal platform. Spanning go-to-market strategy, business development, marketing, talent, legal, finance and operations, the integrated platform generated thousands of opportunities for Team8 companies over the past year, from early customer validation and commercial pilots to strategic partnerships and global expansion.
Reflecting its commitment to technological leadership, Team8 also announced the launch of the Team8 AI Research & Excellence Center, a new internal initiative designed to deepen the fund’s AI expertise and accelerate innovation across its portfolio. The center will support AI strategy and implementation for Team8 companies, assist in investment thesis development and market analysis, conduct technical due diligence and develop advanced internal AI tools to bolster the fund’s platform.
The summit concluded with expert-led sessions from members of the Team8 Village, offering founders insight into global scaling strategies across cybersecurity, fintech, digital health and enterprise software — underscoring the collective strength of a global network built on collaboration, expertise and shared purpose.