Stratos Ventures, a new venture capital fund founded in 2026, has raised more than $50 million in seven months and plans to close at $80 million. The fund focuses on early-stage investments in DefenseTech, resilience, homeland security, critical infrastructure protection, data center infrastructure, supply chains and cybersecurity for government customers.
The fund has already completed five investments in pre-seed and seed-stage companies. According to Stratos, four of those companies have since raised follow-on rounds at higher valuations, led by Silicon Valley venture capital firms. Most of the companies in its portfolio operate in defense and resilience-related fields, where public disclosure is often limited because of technological sensitivity and work with defense organizations.
Rotem Yehuda Kakon and Daniel Fouzailov
(Photo: Emma Sayag)
Stratos describes its investment approach as “Resilience Capitalism,” a strategy focused on technologies designed to support defense systems, critical infrastructure and government operations.
The fund was founded by Rotem Yehuda Kakon, Aviad Grinfeld and Daniel Fouzailov, who operate from Tel Aviv and Florida. The three partners have backgrounds in venture capital, technology incubators, company-building and international business development.
Kakon previously led technology investments for a family office in the United Kingdom, investing in Israeli and American venture funds as well as technology companies. Over the past decade, he has focused on DefenseTech, DeepTech and dual-use technologies. He was an early investor in companies including Carbyne, Infinidome and RepAir, and was involved in several exits. Earlier in his career, he served as chief of staff to two Israeli government ministers and served in an IDF special forces unit.
Grinfeld has worked in the defense and homeland security sectors for more than 15 years. He previously helped grow one of Israel’s large defense groups from about $10 million in revenue to several hundred million dollars, while building operations in more than 80 countries. He has also been involved in defense-sector investments and exits including IRD, Skylock, MyDefence and BeeSense.
Fouzailov has made dozens of DeepTech investments in Israel through a family office venture arm. He was also involved in transactions that reached public listings on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. He is active in Israel’s startup ecosystem and works with communities of young technology entrepreneurs, including graduates of elite intelligence and technology units.
Stratos’ strategic partners include retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, a former CIA director, senior executives from SAAB USA and Theo Williams, former head of strategic investments at Salesforce. The partners advise the fund on strategy, international networks and market access.
The fund says it has already helped portfolio companies secure projects, commercial agreements, pilots and early work programs. A central part of its model is helping Israeli companies build go-to-market channels in the U.S. market.
Stratos operates in the United States in collaboration with The LAB Miami, giving portfolio companies access to organizations including Dow, CENTCOM, the Port of Miami and potential end customers in the U.S. defense market. The fund positions the platform as a bridge between Israeli defense innovation and U.S. government and defense-sector customers.
Stratos plans to invest in 15 to 20 early-stage pre-seed and seed companies founded by Israeli entrepreneurs, or companies with a significant connection to Israel or Israeli intellectual property. Initial investments typically range from $2 million to $4 million. In addition to its early-stage investments, the fund has already led two follow-on rounds in portfolio companies together with several of its limited partners.
The fund’s anchor investor is an institutional investor from the United Kingdom. Other investors include family offices from the United States, Europe, India, South America, Australia and Israel, as well as Israeli and American entrepreneurs who have completed exits and fund-of-funds investors.
Earlier this year, Stratos and The LAB Miami organized a DefenseTech event during Israel Tech Week Miami, in collaboration with Jefferies, Blackstone, MAFAT, SOCOM, CENTCOM and other organizations. The event drew more than 1,500 participants, including U.S. and Israeli defense officials, investment funds, American defense contractors, government representatives and DefenseTech entrepreneurs.