VC Survey 2026
“Investors are rewarding companies that can demonstrate why growth is sustainable, disciplined, and resilient”
Yoni Heilbronn, Managing Partner at IL Ventures, joined CTech for its 2026 VC Survey.
“The most critical metric driving premium valuations in 2026 will be quality of revenue, rather than any standalone financial KPI's,” said Yoni Heilbronn, Managing Partner at IL Ventures.
“While metrics like EBITDA or NRR still matter, the emphasis has shifted to durable, repeatable revenue that proves real customer value - including clear product-market fit, strong customer retention, and an efficient path to profitability. In a post-correction market, investors are rewarding companies that can demonstrate not just growth, but why that growth is sustainable, disciplined, and resilient over time,” he added.
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IL Ventures partners (left to right): Dani Harari, Yoni Heilbronn and Elad Frenkel.
(Photo: Shlomi Yosef)
Following the turbulence of recent years and the stabilization of 2025, the Israeli tech ecosystem is entering a new era: The Next Leap. Heilbronn joined CTech to share insights for its VC Survey 2026.
You can read the entire interview below.
Fund ID
Fund Name: IL Ventures
Total Assets Under Management: $30M
Partners/Managers: Yoni Heilbronn, Elad Frenkel, Dani Harari
Notable Portfolio Companies: CaPow, Cybord, Pickommerce, Verstill
Notable Exits: N/A
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?
2026 is likely to bring a selective reopening of the IPO window — but M&A will still be the default liquidity path for most Israeli tech.
After a long stretch focused on conserving cash, 2026 is shaping up as a year of cautious reopening rather than a full reset. A limited number of mature, high-quality Israeli tech companies may find a path to the public markets, but for most startups, strategic acquisitions will continue to be the most realistic exit route. Even as sentiment improves, liquidity is expected to come mainly through M&A and selective secondary deals, with IPOs reserved for exceptional cases rather than the norm.
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?
Early adoption for autonomous agents is likely to happen first in operational, rule-driven enterprise environments - such as cybersecurity operations, IT infrastructure, logistics, and back-office processes - where decisions are structured, measurable, and can be closely monitored. At the same time, the more important question is not where autonomy appears first, but which industries it fundamentally reshapes. In that sense, autonomous AI has the potential to create the biggest impact in traditional, asset-heavy industries, where even small gains in efficiency, reliability, and decision speed can translate into outsized economic and operational transformation.
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?
We believe the biggest dual-use disruption will come from logistics and supply chains. Many of the capabilities honed in defense - such as real-time situational awareness, autonomous decision-making, resilient communications, and operating under uncertainty - translate naturally into the challenges of managing inventories, infrastructure, and complex physical operations. More broadly, the true value of these technologies lies not in where they are first deployed, but in how they can fundamentally reshape traditional, operationally intensive industries by turning long-standing processes into intelligent, autonomous, and highly efficient systems.
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?
As a fund focused on deep tech and on harnessing dual use, defense-derived technologies for civilian markets, we believe one of the most undervalued opportunities right now is the automation of the physical world in traditional industries, mainly with regards to physical AI.
While much of the market is chasing Cyber, GenAI and software-only trends, we see far bigger upside in sectors logistics, supply chain, energy, industrial operations and infrastructure, as well as in retail and hospitality, where the problems are real, adoption has lagged, and the impact of applied AI, robotics, and autonomous decision systems can be transformational. These are not hype-driven markets, but ones where durable companies with real customers can be built.
Finally, name 2-3 startups that, in your opinion, are likely to make a leap forward this year.
CaPow (portfolio company), Cybord (portfolio company), Pickommerce (portfolio company) - now entering very significant commercial expansion with top tier global customers.
