Enterprise capital investor and former NBA star Omri Casspi has raised one other $100 million for his fund Swish Ventures to spend money on excessive profile Israeli unicorns like Eon, Upwind, Tenzai and Irregular and US corporations like Cognition and Utilized Compute.
Casspi, who has teamed up with distinguished US traders like Peter Thiel, Joshua Kushner, Joe Lonsdale, Elad Gil and Sean Maguire, and serial entrepreneurs like Ofir Ehrlich, Amiram Shachar, and Roi Tiger, has constructed a portfolio in a brief time frame that features a giant focus of high-value, fast-growing corporations. The brand new alternative fund will permit Swish to proceed to keep up its holdings in later phases of fund elevating for corporations and profit from their continued appreciation. Casspi has a excessive proportion of unicorns in its portfolio for a enterprise capital fund that’s simply three years previous.
The fund, which was raised principally from current traders in Swish Ventures – senior companions in distinguished enterprise capital funds, together with Sean Maguire from Sequoia – has already invested within the newest financing spherical of Eon, an Israeli unicorn that offers with knowledge backup for AI processing and raised $300 million final week at a valuation of $4 billion.
Swish additionally holds shares in Cognition AI, the US AI big that acquired the automated software program improvement engine WIndsurf, and Amiram Shachar’s Upwind Safety, which was in talks to be acquired by Datadog for $1 billion, and the promising startup Tenzai, which raised $75 million final month.
Casspi’s community of connections has underpinned Swish’s achievements. It’s often the one small fund amongst giants in seed rounds. In Tenzai it invested alongside Greylock, Lux Capital and Battery Ventures and within the Israeli AI lab Irregular it invested alongside Sequoia and Redpoint.
“We acquired motivation from our entrepreneurs and in addition from the traders to proceed investing in corporations and to extend our dedication to them down the highway,” Casspi tells “Globes.” “We introduced the institution of the fund and accomplished its elevating inside just a few weeks and in a comparatively quick interval. The fund has matured comparatively quickly, however has been constructed rigorously beginning with our first fund in 2022 (the Sheva fund), and till right this moment, what guides us is to be a associate to our entrepreneurs, in Israel and the US.”
Within the wake of this fund elevating, the full belongings underneath administration of Casspi and his funds within the tech sector is $300 million, which incorporates the Swish seed fund, which was raised final 12 months totaling $63 million; the Sheva fund, which he based in 2022 with David Citron for $35 million; and different devoted investments exterior the funds, that are estimated to be value about $100 million. The brand new alternative fund plans to make about eight investments within the fields of cybersecurity, expertise infrastructure and AI, with a median funding of about $10 million.
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Casspi doesn’t reveal the identities of the traders within the fund and makes do with a common assertion: “The largest names in US enterprise capital funds and companions in funds,” however it may be estimated that his connections with prime funds resembling Founders Fund, 8VC, Sequoia, Thrive and Lux Capital helped him on this. Casspi provides that along with the common traders in Swish, funds that interact in philanthropy on this planet of life sciences have additionally joined the Alternative Fund.
Based on the enterprise capital fund web site PitchBook, among the many restricted traders in Swish are additionally serial entrepreneurs Amiram Shachar, Ofir Ehrlich, Alon Arvatz and Gal David – all of whom raised capital from the fund for his or her startups. The connection to distinguished serial entrepreneurs can also be associated to the excessive focus of unicorns within the portfolio. “The principle energy of the fund for an investor who got here from basketball, with no background in startups and enterprise capital, truly comes from our entrepreneurs. That is our bread and butter and is the most important issue that determines. We attempt to work carefully with them as a result of that is what’s going to in the end convey the subsequent corporations and the subsequent entrepreneurs. It is a small trade the place everybody talks to everybody else and works with top-notch funds.”
Cybersecurity and AI
Casspi, who for the reason that founding of the fund has been taking part in within the crowded and costly subject of distinguished Israeli cybersecurity corporations in addition to within the subject of Israeli serial entrepreneurs, enjoys intensive connections with the large funds at an fascinating time. Based on a report by the cybersecurity fund YL Ventures, for the primary time in Israeli tech, US funds have surpassed Israeli funds in seed investments in Israeli cybersecurity, with 44 seed spherical investments in contrast with 35 from Israeli funds. The entry of big funds like Sequoia, Greylock and Lux into such early phases of corporations additionally brings with it a rise in worth and the potential for a bubble in Israeli cybersecurity.
“It is a very aggressive market, however I do not know if the phrase cybersecurity bubble is right on this case,” says Casspi. “For every firm the valuation is derived from the market by which the corporate operates, the exit potential, the id of the entrepreneurs and the adoption of the product available in the market. Even when the worth may be very excessive, there’s a very giant market potential and group. I started my journey in enterprise capital in 2022 when high-tech was at a low, which continued into 2023 and right this moment we see the tectonic adjustments available in the market, the technological upheaval that enables new corporations to exchange so many veteran gamers. And in the end, the scale of the funding will not be an element however the development potential of the corporate. For those who invested in SpaceX, even 5% of it may give you billions.”
Casspi’s community of connections in US enterprise capital – Sean Maguire, Joshua Kushner and Peter Thiel – are near the Republican Occasion, economically conservative, and sympathetic to Israel. Casspi talks in regards to the inflow of big American funds into Israel, and cybersecurity corporations particularly. “These world funds have been investing right here for the reason that starting of the conflict, and they’re current right here in a really excessive focus, they’re very aggressive and so they even have the power to assist entrepreneurs within the US, and they’re searching for the perfect cybersecurity offers right here.
“They perceive that there’s a magic circle right here. Abilities depart the military, discovered corporations which are acquired, and right this moment they’re already second- or third-time entrepreneurs who discovered even higher corporations. I’ve little doubt that the subsequent $100 billion AI and cybersecurity corporations will come out of Israel – we see father or mother corporations right here that may “disrupt” extra mature industries. Sadly, we see this much less within the worlds exterior of cybersecurity and AI right here.”
Did Israel miss the AI revolution?
Casspi: “I do not assume anybody anticipated Israel to play a distinguished function in growing giant language fashions. On this sport, when it comes to capital expenditures (capex) and the competitors for expertise, the US has a distinguished place, and it’s troublesome for Israeli corporations to compete with an ambition like OpenAI’s to take a position a trillion {dollars} within the subsequent 5 years, however we’re very robust in optimizations, purposes and naturally in cybersecurity for AI. I count on the military, which invests closely in cybersecurity and produces glorious cybersecurity folks, to make a major change in the direction of AI, and this can result in Israel’s future management within the subject of information facilities, vitality and neo-cloud.
You progress in the proper circles within the US, however Israel was hit arduous in Europe and the Gulf through the conflict, together with by sports activities associations.
“It’s not proper for us Israelis to cancel relations with European traders who’ve pulled away, however quite to maintain the door open, and as enterprise {and professional} corporations to indicate them the place they went unsuitable. I’m completely happy that across the desk within the corporations we spend money on, there’s a pro-Israel group, sitting and planning to maintain it that means. Our traders are very optimistic about Israel.”
Revealed by Globes, Israel enterprise information – en.globes.co.il – on December 11, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Writer Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
