Merlin Ventures closes $75m Israel VC fund

Merlin partner Shay Michel credit: Eyal Izhar
Merlin partner Shay Michel credit: Eyal Izhar

The fund will focus on investments in growth stage Israeli cybersecurity companies.

Israeli-US venture capital fund Merlin Ventures has announced the closing of its second fund, which will focus on investments in growth stage Israeli cybersecurity companies. The fund, which will be managed by Shay Michel, Seth Spergel and David Phelps, raised money from investors in both Israel and the US including veteran entrepreneurs and senior figures in the tech industry.

Among the consultants and investors in this latest fund are Torq CEO and cofounder Ofer Smadari, Talon Cyber Security CEO and cofounder Ofer Bin-Noon, Dig Security CEO and cofounder Dan Benjamin and mentalist Lior Suchard who joined Merlin as a partner last July.

Merlin Ventures, which opened its Tel Aviv office in 2021, has already recorded six exits. These include the sale of Dig Security to Palo Alto Networks. The new fund has already invested in two companies in collaboration with Lightspeed Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. In addition, it has launched the Genesis Program - a platform to support startups in its portfolio, which aims to speed up growth and penetrate markets in the AI era, which dictates more rapid development.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 4, 2025.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.

Merlin partner Shay Michel credit: Eyal Izhar
Merlin partner Shay Michel credit: Eyal Izhar
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