Mind the Tech NY
"Israel is the cutting edge of the West. A lot of people don’t understand that."
Josh Wolfe, a founding partner at Lux Capital, was speaking at the Calcalist and Bank Leumi New York 2026 Mind the Tech conference. Lee Moser, a founding partner at Protego Ventures, added, "The Ministry of Defense has adopted more than 100 new startups in the last three years, and billions of shekels have been invested in contracts, something that has never happened at such a speed."
Sophie Shulman interviews Josh Wolfe and Lee Moser
(Alex Kolomoisky, Tomeriko, Live Focus)
“The generation in Israel feels like what our parents had in the United States after World War II, what was called ‘the greatest generation.’ But I really believe, on a global scale, that this generation in Israel will be the greatest generation, because it is under fire and facing existential threats,” said Josh Wolfe, a founding partner at Lux Capital, who was interviewed along with Lee Moser, a founding partner at Protego Ventures, by Sophie Shulman at the Calcalist and Bank Leumi New York 2026 Mind the Tech conference.
According to Wolfe, “The rest of the world that was focused on technology, that developed apps and social media, suddenly looks at these types of technologies and finds meaning and importance in things that can not only protect Israel, but in many ways, the rest of the world. Israel is the cutting edge of the West. It’s just that a lot of people don’t understand that.
"Human capital is one issue, the other is technological. If my grandmother or grandfather had heard 30 years ago that Israel would sell missile defense to Germany, that Israel would sell missile defense to Muslim Arabs in the United Arab Emirates - their brains would have exploded. And Israel, as a technological and regional hegemon as a result, was definitely something that Iran never anticipated, but that the world craved. And you see it in the currency, in the shekel, you see it in the stock market, you see it in the flow of capital."
How does the Israeli defense establishment accept new technologies and startups?
Moser: "During the war, I think on the second day, they realized that we had a huge gap to fill, and the Defense Ministry and the defense industry have adopted more than 100 new startups in the last three years, and billions of shekels have been invested in contracts, in POCs (proof of feasibility) and more. This is something that has never happened so quickly. It happened with the defense giants in Israel, but for the defense tech, it was quite new.
"We are seeing more and more adoption, and although this adoption helps us win and helps us, of course, sell to other countries. We are the only ones besides Russia and Ukraine that are actually collecting data on the battlefield. Countries like the US, Germany, India now, more than ever, want to buy from us. I would say there is great integration and great go-to-market in Israel, but the real issue is how to sell and integrate and be part of what is happening around the world and not just in Israel."
What would be your advice to founders in defense tech?
Wolfe: "Anduril was the first company where we ever had to, as a partnership, deal with the idea that we were going to be a pure defense company. We were going to be involved in a 'chain of death,' and we had to feel morally comfortable with that. And we felt comfortable, because we believe that the greater the technological precision, the greater the moral precision. My advice to entrepreneurs, in answer to your question, is 'don't be nasty' to the established companies in the market, because you're still going to have to collaborate with them on the plans."
Maybe we are in a “wartime” bubble?
Moser: “I don’t see a bubble. I see 5x to 10x multiples on revenue. To me, this is a great opportunity for investors to invest in this. It’s not a bubble, because warfare is forever changing. What we’re seeing in Israel, and also in the US and Ukraine, is the realization that warfare is forever changing. The basis of a robotic army, and commanders making decisions based on data collected from the battlefield and based on AI – that’s already happening.”
Wolfe: “Today, as someone said, we’re throwing a Ferrari at a Frisbee. The asymmetry in the costs of the interceptors we’re throwing is painful, but it’s necessity that is the father of invention, and people will continue to invent cheaper systems to fight cheaper systems. Warfare is an endless evolutionary cycle of attack-defense, counterattack-defense.”
How do you see the future of the Middle East?
Wolfe: "I'm quite optimistic. To me, it's the model for the future of the Middle East. And it's no wonder that they (the countries in the region) were the most affected by the Iranian missiles. It only brought them closer to Israel. It only brought some of the countries closer together against a common enemy, especially Islamic extremism.
"I do worry, not so much about the Middle East, but about the Sahel region in Africa. That's going to be the next vector. It's going to affect Europe. We're one terrorist incident away from turning this region into the next Afghanistan of the West. There are foreign powers - China, Russia, Iran - who would like to see that happen so that we're distracted. It would be a new threat to Israel on the Western front. But I'm very optimistic about the future of the Middle East, and especially about Israel's role as a military, technological and economic power in the region."
Watch the full exchange in the video above.
