Former Elron executives launch $100 million AI and cyber fund
AlphaDrive aims to back Israeli startups across all stages amid industry transformation.
Yaron Elad and Elik Etzion, former executives at Elron Ventures, are launching a new $100 million fund, AlphaDrive, focused on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The fund has secured Leumi Partners as an anchor investor, alongside additional backers including “Aurum” the Kahn family office, cybersecurity entrepreneurs from Israel and the U.S., venture capital fund managers, and other investors from the U.S. and Europe.
Elad, the former CEO of Elron Ventures, and Etzion, a cyber and AI expert, former deputy commander of Unit 8200’s cyber unit, and former CISO of Bank Hapoalim, left Elron’s management about a year ago. They are joined by a third partner, Gurinder Sidhu, a seasoned investment banker who until recently led the cybersecurity and infrastructure software sector at UBS, the world’s largest wealth management bank. In his role, Sidhu led M&A and financing transactions for leading cybersecurity companies including CrowdStrike, CyberArk, SentinelOne, Barracuda, Sophos and Varonis.
AlphaDrive plans to invest across multiple stages, from seed to later-stage companies, while also deploying larger capital through co-investments alongside Leumi Partners. The fund is expected to focus primarily on startups founded by Israeli entrepreneurs.
So far, AlphaDrive has invested in five startups, including ventures led by serial entrepreneurs operating at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, alongside leading venture firms such as Greylock, Accel, CRV, Notable, and Viola Ventures.
The launch comes amid a broader transformation in the venture capital industry driven by AI. The traditional boundaries between product and services companies, as well as between early- and late-stage investing, are increasingly blurring. Development cycles are shortening, and AI-native companies are reaching significant revenue levels in relatively short periods. Even internal processes within investment funds are being reshaped by AI tools.
Against this backdrop, AlphaDrive has developed an investment strategy that combines elements of venture capital and private equity. The model includes investing throughout a company’s lifecycle and building new companies with serial entrepreneurs through a “foundry” approach. The strategy is supported by a global, multidisciplinary team with extensive shared experience.
The fund’s team also includes Sharon Wagner, a serial entrepreneur who has sold several companies to technology giants including Microsoft; Dr. Uri Geiger, a venture capital and private equity investor; Kobi Katz, CTO of Maccabi Healthcare Services; and Susanne Senoff, who serves as CISO at Thoma Bravo Group company. In addition, senior technology and cybersecurity executives from international companies. Including TikTok, Warner, Chime, and Medtronic, are part of the extended team.
Yaron Elad, Managing Partner at AlphaDrive, said: “We built AlphaDrive after decades of working closely with entrepreneurs across the entire lifecycle of companies, from the earliest stages, through growth, to exit. Building a company has always been a roller coaster, but in the AI era it has become faster, sharper, and far more unpredictable.
“We see our role as partners in this journey, with a deep understanding of what it takes to build companies that succeed over time. AlphaDrive was established to operate precisely at these inflection points, with expertise in cybersecurity and AI, and with the ability to work with companies at different stages helping them grow effectively in the new world being built before our eyes.”
Elik Etzion added: “We are in the midst of a powerful convergence between two of the world’s fastest-growing industries, AI and cybersecurity, and this convergence is reshaping the rules of the game. At AlphaDrive, we have built a dedicated Cyber-AI task force, a unique team with proven experience navigating previous waves of transformation and disruption in the industry. Our goal is to enable entrepreneurs to seize the current window of opportunity and provide them with a broad value platform that will allow them to build companies shaping the future of the industry.”
