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| Cyber security/image/unsplash |
Glilot Capital announced on Wednesday that it has successfully raised $500 million for two new early-stage funds aimed at investing in rapidly growing Israeli AI and cybersecurity startups.
The funds were primarily sourced from international investors, including pension funds and various financial institutions based in the U.S. and Europe.
This capital will be allocated to two new Glilot funds: a seed fund, which is the fifth of its kind, and another fund named Glilot Plus that focuses on early-stage companies.Since its inception in 2011, Glilot has made 22 investments.
Kobi Samboursky, co-founder and managing partner, mentioned that each of the new funds is set to invest in 12 AI and cybersecurity startups over the next few years. So far this year, Glilot's funds have invested in eight companies, and its portfolio companies have attracted $700 million in follow-on investments.
"Cyber is now bigger than ever, and I don't think it's going to end anytime soon," Samboursky said.
He indicated that half of the new funding would be directed towards new investments, while the remainder would support follow-on investments. Glilot currently manages over $1 billion in assets.
Samboursky said that the investment focus would largely be on startups that safeguard companies' AI and address threats arising from AI—technology that merges AI with cybersecurity.
"This segment is going to be bigger than cloud security," Samboursky added. "In the next five to six years, we have the potential to create numerous outstanding companies due to this combination."