CTalk
“We're back to our basic principles of looking at the founders in front of us”
TLV Partners Associate Ophir Shay explains why lower barriers to entry are causing early-stage investors to return to the fundamentals of founder evaluations.
Ophir Shay - Summer Cocktail by Fusion VC 2026.
(Video: Orel Cohen)
From an investor's perspective, the AI revolution means “that the barriers to building something have really gone down,” explained Ophir Shay, Associate at TLV Partners. And as building products has become easier, Shay explained that investors are returning to the fundamentals of evaluation criteria when it comes to early-stage startups. “We're back to our basic principles of looking at the founders in front of us,” he said. Qualities like execution ability, market expertise, and team dynamics “matter more than ever because that's really all we can tell about the company at a very early stage.”
Shay spoke with CTech’s Amy Shapiro during the Summer Cocktail event in Tel Aviv hosted by Fusion VC, a gathering which convened some of the most prominent members of Israel’s investment scene.
When asked whether Israel's high-tech sector is losing its edge in legacy titans like cyber in favor of emerging sectors like defense and deep tech, Shay argued, “I don't think we're shifting, but rather maybe expanding our abilities.” Describing the military as a traditional training ground for cyber, he added, “As long as we live in the geopolitical reality we live in, we're going to continue putting extraordinary talent in the best units in the world.” At the same time, Israel’s academic institutions have become an engine propelling these frontier sectors. “If you look at our universities, for example, they have created amazing talent when it comes to research on AI, semiconductors, quantum computing,” said Shay.
You can watch the full conversation in the video above.
