VC Survey 2026
“The UAV sector holds the highest potential for civilian adaptation and ultimately, the future of autonomous transportation”
Chaim Schiff, CEO of Elephant Secondary Market Platform, joined CTech for its 2026 VC Survey.
“We estimate that the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sector holds the highest potential for rapid civilian adaptation,” said Chaim Schiff, CEO of Elephant Secondary Market Platform, when asked which civilian industry will see the biggest disruption from adapting battle-tested technologies.
"This is driven by a combination of low entry barriers and production costs, the addition of AI to drones, alongside immense operational versatility-ranging from logistics and 'last-mile' solutions to industrial and agricultural monitoring and surveillance, and ultimately, the future of autonomous transportation," he added.
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Chaim Schiff, CEO of Elephant Secondary Market Platform.
(Photo: Elephant Secondary Market Platform)
“However, widespread [UAV] adoption largely depends on the adaptation of civilian regulations. Concurrently, laser technology—still in its infancy yet a field in which Israel is a global leader—marks the next frontier of innovation, and it will be fascinating to observe its future civilian applications."
Following the turbulence of recent years and the stabilization of 2025, the Israeli tech ecosystem is entering a new era: The Next Leap. Schiff joined CTech to share insights for its VC Survey 2026.
You can read the entire interview below.
Fund ID
Fund Name: Elephant Secondary Market Platform
Notable Portfolio Companies: Tens of global and Israeli Unicorns and Decacorns are listed on the platform
Liquidity Leap: After a period defined by cash preservation, will 2026 see the reopening of the IPO window for Israeli tech, or will M&A remain the sole viable liquidity event?
As it appears that the ARR/Revenue threshold for companies to go public has been constantly moving up (from $100 a couple of years ago to $250-$300 million now), the number of companies that meet this qualification is narrowing.
We think that while the IPO window is opening on one hand, the number of companies that can actually take this route will not necessarily increase significantly on the other. Therefore, an M&A will still be the way to go for many companies looking for an exit on one hand and on the other hand for the companies that wish to go public but need to increase their ARR/Revenues through acquisitions.
The Valuation Leap: Moving past the market correction, what is the single most critical metric (e.g., EBITDA, NRR) that will drive premium valuations in 2026?
From what we are seeing in the secondary market the answer is one word (or actually, 2 letters): AI. AI has been the key metric in valuations. How involved is the company in the AI revolution, how AI affects its operations and how it is expected to affect its business plan going forward.
The Agentic Leap: As we transition from 'Copilots' to autonomous 'Agents,' which specific vertical will be the first to fully trust AI with independent decision-making?
Probably the verticals where there is an ability to supervise and where there is some kind of room for error. The AI revolution/evolution is a game- and life-changer, but it still has its flaws, and will probably take some time until it can be fully trusted.
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The Contrarian Leap: What is one sector or trend currently ignored by the herd that you believe represents the most undervalued opportunity for the coming year?
In our assessment, the synergy between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the healthcare sector holds the potential for a significant leap in the quality of medical care.
Countries possessing advanced healthcare infrastructures and comprehensive digital medical records, such as Israel, are uniquely positioned; they can leverage AI tools for the early detection of disease patterns, identification of at-risk populations, and monitoring of epidemics in their initial stages.
These capabilities will enable a transition to a model of preventive medicine and early therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, combining these capabilities with the plummeting costs of genetic mapping opens the door to unprecedented possibilities across a wide range of medical applications.
