UpWest raises $70 million for Fund IV, investing in Israeli founders seeking to deal with U.S. market – TechCrunch

UpWest, the enterprise agency led by Shuly Galili, Gil Ben-Artzy and Assaf Warhaft, introduced this morning that it has closed on a $70 million fund, the fourth within the agency’s 10+ yr historical past.

The agency is exclusive in that it makes a speciality of funding and supporting Israeli founders who want to enter the U.S. market early of their startup’s life.

The earliest funds for the agency have been sub-$10 million, however returned after which some for LPs because of investments in startups like SentinelOne, which just lately went public at a valuation north of $10 billion. Another standout portfolio firms for UpWest embody Honeybook (valued over $2 billion after its latest elevate), Stampli, Imbuit, and CyCognito.

Because the agency has matured, and seen success with its portfolio, it has change into extra capable of be aggressive inside the ecosystem. UpWest can now lead pre-seed and seed rounds, and has already taken level on 4 seed rounds for stealthy firms, utilizing capital from its new fund.

Although UpWest is sector agnostic, it has developed experience in areas the place Israeli tech is strongest, corresponding to cybersecurity, AI, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and fintech.

Galili informed TechCrunch that there’s alternative in areas like modernization of information, notably in industries like the provision chain and well being care.

Alongside the information of its subsequent fund, UpWest can be asserting that it has opened an workplace in Tel Aviv. Galili defined that this buildings the agency to be extra just like lots of its portfolio firms, who’ve an HQ within the U.S. however run an engineering workforce primarily based in Israel.

“Israel continues to be a bellwether for brand spanking new innovation, new applied sciences, and it’s a maturing ecosystem, to the purpose the place you might have now so many unicorns and a lot cash flowing to the late stage,” mentioned Galili. “We’re additionally seeing plenty of new gamers coming into Israel and billions of {dollars} have been poured into type of betting on the quick horses there. The present seed stage, nonetheless, I’d say continues to be an space the place we really feel — as a result of we’ve had 10 years of actually specializing in that class and constructing the proper infrastructure and the proper relationships with others — we really feel we’ve got unimaginable alternative to proceed to be energetic.”