New VC fund bets Israel’s next billion

Israel may be a country built by olim — immigrants — but its modern tech industry has not necessarily reflected that history. A new venture capital fund is betting that some of the country’s most overlooked founders are the people who have only recently arrived.Aliyah Ventures, founded in 2026 by former McKinsey executive Ron Alpar, is a Tel Aviv-based pre-seed fund focused exclusively on olim building technology companies in Israel. The fund has completed the first close of its debut fund, made its first two investments and is evaluating around 50 additional startups. It typically invests $250,000 to $500,000 at the pre-seed stage.Aliyah Ventures founder Ron Alpar (Photo: Courtesy)The thesis is built around a striking gap. Immigrants founded or co-founded 59% of U.S. unicorns — privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more — according to the National Foundation for American Policy. In Israel, fewer than 5% of such companies have immigrant founders, according to Aliyah Ventures’ own analysis.Alpar argues that the disparity reflects, at least in part, the way Israel’s tightly connected startup ecosystem works.New olim may arrive with significant professional experience and strong international networks, but often lack the local credentials that can help founders win early backing: fluent Hebrew, an Israeli track record, army connections or relationships within the country’s venture capital community. The fund’s website explicitly says traditional Israeli investors can overlook immigrant founders because of their language, networks or lack of military background.Aliyah Ventures is effectively betting that those perceived weaknesses can become advantages. The fund points to immigrants’ knowledge of international markets, overseas networks and cross-cultural experience as strengths for companies trying to build globally from Israel. Its website describes international background as a “superpower” rather than a barrier. “We see that gap as one of the most overlooked opportunities in Israeli tech,” Alpar said in the fund’s press materials.A growing pool of potential foundersThe timing is also part of the investment thesis. Aliyah Ventures cites data showing that aliyah from several Western countries accelerated in 2025. Aliyah from the United States rose 12% to approximately 4,150 people, while aliyah from France increased by about 45% to roughly 3,300 and aliyah from Britain rose 19%. Roughly one-third of olim arriving in Israel that year were between the ages of 18 and 35, according to figures compiled by the fund from Israeli and Jewish organizations. The company also points to government incentives for new olim and the falling cost of building startups with AI as factors that could make entrepreneurship in Israel more attractive.Alpar’s own background mirrors the international profile he is targeting. Born in Frankfurt to an Israeli mother of Yemeni descent and a Jewish father from the former Yugoslavia, he later lived in Israel and the United States. Before launching Aliyah Ventures, he spent seven and a half years at McKinsey, helping establish the firm’s Israel Tech Hub before going on to lead its AI Center of Excellence in New York.Building a landing pad, not just writing checksThe fund has assembled more than 100 scouts in Jewish communities around the world, including New York, London, Paris and Sydney, to identify entrepreneurs before or shortly after they immigrate.It is also trying to address problems that fall outside traditional venture capital. Alongside financing and introductions to customers and investors, Aliyah Ventures offers founders help accessing government benefits, business Hebrew lessons, workspace and assistance navigating Israeli bureaucracy, banking and healthcare. Its first fund investments are Conspectus, an AI intelligence platform founded by former CNN and Meta analyst Jennifer Korn, and Bayes, founded by Benny Attar, which uses prediction markets to help businesses hedge risks that traditional insurance does not cover.Alpar’s earlier angel investment in payments startup Klearly also helped shape the fund’s strategy. Klearly, founded by immigrant entrepreneur Sam Koekoek, later raised a $14 million Series A led by PayPal Ventures.Aliyah Ventures’ wager is ultimately about more than aliyah. It is a bet that Israel’s reliance on local networks may be causing investors to miss founders whose strongest advantages lie outside the country. “We want to be their first call when they land,” Alpar said.