Clinton Global Initiative teams up with Israeli fund on new resilience-tech push
The collaboration between the Clinton Global Initiative and Shani Zanescu's Universe Partners aims to build and invest in technologies addressing extreme weather, geopolitical, technological, and economic disruption.
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) will collaborate with Universe Partners, a new Israeli investment platform founded by entrepreneur and investor Shani Zanescu, Calcalist has learned.
Universe Partners operates an investment fund that is raising $20-$30 million to make 10-12 early-stage investments. The fund follows a concentrated-portfolio model, investing in a small number of companies and working closely with their founders to help build the businesses.
The collaboration with the Clinton Global Initiative will includejoint efforts to identify new ventures.and works on some of the world’s most urgent challenges. Led by former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton, the initiative brings together political, philanthropic, and business leaders to support global programs.
Zanescu was also selected to join CGI’s Innovative Finance Working Group, which focuses on developing and implementing new financial models. Its members include international investors, family offices, and senior executives, with the goal of channeling today’s historic generational wealth transfer toward responsible and economically productive ends.
Universe Partners’ board includes Philipp Rösler, former Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economics and Technology of Germany; Cameron Geiger, former Vice President of Supply Chain at Walmart; Dr. Laura Segafredo, former Global Head of Sustainable Product and Portfolio Research at BlackRock; and Julia Diament, Microsoft CTO Office (AI & Security), Former Lieutenant Colonel GM, Artificial Intelligence Solutions in Intelligence Special Forces, along with other senior figures from the World Economic Forum.
Bill Clinton said at the annual meeting: “We need to redefine how we show up, how we work, and how we find ways to honor our common humanity.”
Zanescu said: “Resilience is the defining investment theme of our time. We back teams turning today’s disruptions into tomorrow’s trillion-dollar opportunities. What we cannot prevent, we can leverage.
“In a world reshaped by accelerating artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, intensified extreme weather, and fragile supply chains, we invest in breakthrough technologies that fortify the systems societies depend on: digital infrastructure and data centers, supply chains, food, water, energy, financial and security systems, and the workforce of the future,” said Zanescu.
Zanescu has served as chairwoman and board member for several companies and initiatives. She has invested over $100 million and managed $400 million in assets in the deep-tech sector through direct and LP investments, in roles including venture partner at the VC fund Jibe and investment manager at Consensus Business Group, a family office managing approximately $1 billion.
Earlier, she worked for a decade in foreign policy and national security in Israel, Europe, and the United States. Through the Ministry of Defense, she led collaborations and bilateral relations between Israel and the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), the European Union, and NATO. She later served as Head of the UK-Israel Foreign Relations Department, where she led cooperation in science, technology, and innovation at the British Consulate. During her military service, she worked in foreign relations. She also founded philanthropic organizations including “Israel’s Children’s Fund,” which supports children orphaned by the October 7 attacks, and “Plantech,” which backs climate-tech initiatives.
