VC Survey 2026
“The next AI revolution will be powered by energy, cooling, and physical infrastructure”
Next Gear Ventures partner Tali Rosenwaks joins CTech to discuss Startup Nation's shift to strategy-driven exits, the rewards of disciplined DeepTech, and how infrastructure players will win the AI revolution, as part of CTech's VC Survey 2026: The Next Leap.
“We believe that 2026 marks a turning point for Israeli tech liquidity,” says Tali Rosenwaks, partner at Next Gear Ventures. According to Rosenwaks, while the IPO window will open selectively for a handful of scale-ready and globally competitive startups, “what’s notable is the ecosystem’s growing maturity: it is shifting from reactive survival to strategy-driven exits, where founders make decisions based on real traction, capital efficiency, and strategic relevance.”
Following the turbulence of recent years and the stabilization of 2025, the Israeli tech ecosystem is entering a new era: The Next Leap. Rosenwaks joined CTech to share insights for its VC Survey 2026, which invites prominent investors to discuss the topics, trends, and “leaps” expected in the year ahead.
Regarding valuations, Rosenwaks explains that as hype around sectors such as generative AI, climate tech, and autonomous systems cools, attention returns to capital efficiency, “real customer adoption, and a credible path to profitability, which is why many DeepTech companies today are rewarded more for discipline than for bold vision alone.” Looking to the AI landscape, Rosenwaks predicts “autonomous agents emerging first where mistakes are contained, feedback is immediate, and decisions are repetitive,” and after initial workflow support, “gradually earning responsibility for full decisions.”
You can read the entire interview below:
Fund ID
Name of Fund: Next Gear Ventures
Total Assets Under Management (AUM): $90M
Partners: Dr. Tal Cohen, Omer Shachar, Tali Rosenwaks, Yoav Waizer, Michel Taride
Notable Portfolio Companies (Active): Addionics, Foretellix, Hailo, infiniDome, Magnus Metal, NoTraffic, nT-Tao, UVeye
Notable Exits: Autofleet, Voyage 81, Waycare Technologies
The 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?
We believe that 2026 marks a turning point for Israeli tech liquidity. The IPO window is reopening selectively for a handful of scale-ready, globally competitive companies, but for most startups, M&A will remain the primary path to exit. What’s notable is the ecosystem’s growing maturity: it is shifting from reactive survival to strategy-driven exits, where founders make decisions based on real traction, capital efficiency, and strategic relevance. At the same time, global companies are approaching Israeli startups as strategic assets rather than opportunistic talent grabs, accelerating innovation, market access, and technological differentiation.
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?
Startup valuation is never just a spreadsheet exercise; it's a blend of numbers, narrative, and timing. Investors still anchor on the fundamentals – revenue growth, gross margins, unit economics, burn rate, and runway – but market mood matters just as much.
When a startup is aligned with a hot trend such as generative AI, climate tech, or autonomous systems, valuations often reflect future promise before revenues fully materialize, as we saw with early AI infrastructure and foundation-model companies.
In contrast, when hype cools, attention shifts back to capital efficiency, real customer adoption, and a credible path to profitability, which is why many DeepTech companies today are rewarded more for discipline than for bold vision alone.
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?
As AI evolves from digital AI, focused on screens and analysis, toward physical AI that operates in the real world, the first full leap into autonomous decision-making will happen in logistics and industrial operations. Advanced manufacturing, robotics, warehouses, fleets, data centers, and energy systems provide the right conditions: frequent, measurable decisions, clear safety frameworks, and bounded risk – environments where I believe trust in AI can take root fastest.
I see autonomous agents emerging first where mistakes are contained, feedback is immediate, and decisions are repetitive. These domains will become the proving grounds for physical AI, while higher-stakes, mission-critical systems will adopt autonomy more cautiously, letting AI start with workflow support before gradually earning responsibility for full decisions.
The Dual-Use Leap: Israel has mastered Defense Tech. Which civilian industry (e.g. Construction, Agri, Logistics) will see the biggest disruption from adapting these battle-tested technologies?
Dual-use strategy for a startup is tricky. Civilian and defense markets operate under fundamentally different economic conditions. Governments prefer bespoke, low-volume, cost-plus systems for slower procurement cycles (better to be safe than sorry). Commercial markets reward scale and product-market fit. When trying to serve both, you risk failing at both.
Direction matters. Startups that prove themselves commercially first (lean, scalable, and market-validated) can later expand into defense. Starting in defense and going commercial is much harder: slow cycles, over-engineered specs, and government margins don't translate.
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?
Looking ahead, the next AI revolution won't be defined by smarter algorithms alone. It will be powered by energy, cooling, and physical infrastructure. While everyone chases software, generative AI, and Copilot apps, few are tackling the hard limits these systems face. Data centers and high-performance computing clusters are already reaching capacity limits in power and heat, making energy solutions critical for scaling safely and economically.
Startups building on-site energy generation, chip-level cooling, and modular microgrids are quietly addressing these bottlenecks. Compared to the hype around software, this sector is massively undervalued. I believe the first movers here will own the critical infrastructure of the AI era long before the herd wakes up.
Finally, what are 2-3 startups that, in your opinion, are likely to make a leap forward in 2026?
1. Foretellix — Autonomous Validation Tool (Next Gear Ventures portfolio company)
Foretellix develops a verification and validation platform that enables large-scale simulation and safety testing of autonomous driving systems. In late 2025, Foretellix integrated its Physical AI validation toolchain with NVIDIA DRIVE AV, embedding itself deeper into a leading autonomous software ecosystem. As OEMs and AV developers move closer to deployment and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, Foretellix is well-positioned for broader adoption in 2026.
2. NoTraffic — AI-Powered Traffic Management (Next Gear Ventures portfolio company)
NoTraffic transforms traditional intersections into real-time, adaptive traffic systems using AI and edge sensors to optimize flow, safety, and emissions. In 2025, multiple U.S. cities deployed or expanded NoTraffic systems, and the company received Urban Mobility Innovation Award recognition, validating real-world performance rather than just pilots. With cities actively modernizing infrastructure, NoTraffic is positioned to scale municipal contracts and geographic footprint in 2026.
3. Noma Security — AI-Focused Cybersecurity
Noma Security is a cybersecurity startup building systems to protect enterprise data and AI models from threats posed by autonomous AI agents. In mid-2025, Noma raised a $100 million Series B, bringing its total funding to around $132 million and accelerating product development and global expansion. The company’s focus on securing next-gen AI attack surfaces and enterprise assets positions it strongly as demand for AI security intensifies in 2026.
