Fusion VC

Big news from our portfolio: Baz has expanded its Seed round by $9M!🎉 Baz develops an AI platform that helps engineering teams ensure every code change aligns with product specifications, design decisions, engineering standards, and organizational protocols before it ever reaches production. With this momentum, they are launching Baz Planner - a new AI-powered product designed to catch security vulnerabilities at the planning stage, preventing issues before a single line of code is written. As more and more code is written by AI, the software security challenge is fundamentally changing. Traditionally, code review focused on what had already been written. But in the age of AI-generation, the next frontier is identifying vulnerabilities before they ever reach production. That’s exactly the paradigm shift Guy Eisenkot, Nimrod Kor, and the team are driving. Why this milestone matters: ▪️Proven Technical Leadership: Earlier this year, Baz demonstrated its market dominance by ranking #1 on the Code Review Bench, outperforming some of the biggest legacy names in the industry. ▪️Building the Trust Layer: With the launch of Baz Planner, they are expanding their platform to provide the critical security layer that enterprises need to adopt AI agents safely. Kudos to the entire Baz team for reaching another major milestone! We can’t wait to see what’s next. Read the full @geektimecoil article 👇 bit.ly/4yeeYqC

We're excited to share that Obol has been acquired by @PrioritySw , a Blackstone company. Founded by Michael Shomer Schwartz, Ori Mizrahi, and Aviv Sadra, Obol built an AI-powered cash flow management platform that helps finance teams plan, forecast, optimize liquidity, and gain real-time visibility into their financial operations - all in one AI-native platform. With the acquisition, Obol's technology will be integrated into Priority's AI-native Cloud ERP as part of the company's strategy to expand its product offering and strengthen its AI-powered financial management capabilities. We first met the team during Fusion Batch 11, and from day one, we saw founders with deep domain expertise, relentless execution, and a clear vision for the future of enterprise finance. We're proud to have backed Obol from the very beginning and to have been part of their journey ever since. Read the full story on @Calcalistech by @calcalist👇 bit.ly/4fbjr5H

The next generation of Israeli startups won't be built in isolation - they'll be built through access🗽 This year’s New York TECH WEEK highlighted something else entirely: the importance of being connected to the right ecosystem at the right time. For early-stage #founders, access to investors, enterprise customers, global corporations, and fellow builders isn't just about networking - it’s about accelerating learning, validating ideas faster, and building companies with a global mindset from day one. That’s exactly why we have been expanding our presence in New York, alongside Guy Franklin and @IsraeliMappedNY We believe that the strongest startups are built through access to markets, customers, partners, investors, and the communities that help founders move faster. The bridge between Israel and New York has never been more important, and we’re proud to help strengthen it. Our @realYairVardi shared his perspective in a recent Jewish Insider article. @jewishinsider Read more >> bit.ly/4xzFlH8

We're excited to announce a new strategic partnership with Guy Franklin and @IsraeliMappedNY to help Israeli startups break into the New York market. 🇮🇱🗽 As part of the collaboration, Guy Franklin, Founder & CEO of Israeli Mapped in NY, is joining Fusion VC as our New York Advisor, helping founders connect with customers, investors, and opportunities across the city. Read more > bit.ly/3QFXtOS

Being an early-stage AI startup CTO is easily one of the toughest jobs in tech today. AI tech changes by the week, architectures are highly complex, and the war for resources is fierce. Our role as a fund goes way beyond investing capital - it’s about equipping our technical leaders with the tools, answers, and high-impact connections they need to win. Yesterday, we hosted an exclusive roundtable for 17 of our portfolio AI CTOs in collaboration with @nvidia to dive into the raw, real-world technical challenges shaping the next generation of tech. Huge thanks to the @NVIDIA team for an incredible partnership and for bringing massive, practical value to our founders. Link to the full post in the comments below.

Geektime bit.ly/4usNOtj Calcalist bit.ly/3QPK4U6 Bizportal bit.ly/4wdRvVA ynet bit.ly/49svqIO CTech by Calcalist bit.ly/3R1s4pP

Our portfolio company, MSICS Pharma, raised $3.6M and is advancing clinical trials for #PTSD, depression, and OCD. The company has developed a technology to grow and produce the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, and is approaching a critical clinical trial, with early results showing up to 70% remission in depression trials. They are currently working with several hospitals in Israel and are awaiting approval to begin treating 100 PTSD patients, a condition that has become increasingly prominent since October 7. They’re also the only company in Israel and Europe with a GMP license for psilocybin from the Ministry of Health - a strong signal for how they’re building: regulated, rigorous, and ready for scale. Timing matters. As regulations start to open globally, very few teams are actually prepared to supply this market. MSICS is one of them. Founded by brothers Roei Zerahia (CEO) and @OmerZerahia (CBO), not first-timers. They previously led Canndoc, navigating a similar regulatory shift ahead of the market. We led the round, alongside GOODAY Investments (Ofir Azury), GlenRock (Leon Recanati), Gooday Investments, Eyal Gura, Shani Investments (Shaul Shani), David Katzin, SGL Acquisitions, Yaniv Rivlin, Calmy Investment Company, Sagi Ashkevitz, Ariel Leizgold, and L&Co. Proud to back a team building something that truly matters. Link to the full coverage in the comments. @Calcalistech @ynet @geektimecoil

Our portfolio company, @scale_ops , has been named to @calcalist ’s list of the 50 most promising startups 🥳. Founded in 2022 by Yodar Shafrir and Guy Baron, the company is building a platform that autonomously manages cloud production environments - enabling organizations to optimize compute resources in real time, reduce costs, and improve performance. Less than a month ago, the company announced a $130M Series C at a valuation of over $800M, led by @insightpartners and including participation from @lightspeedvp , @NFX , @GlilotP , and Picture Capital. Today, it is leading the category of autonomous cloud and AI resource management. With over 120 employees across Israel, the U.S., and Europe, the company serves customers including Wiz, SentinelOne, and Orca Security. Its inclusion on this list comes as no surprise - ScaleOps is consistently ranked among the most promising companies, both locally and globally. Proud to back the team from day one. This is what Israeli pride looks like 🇮🇱 Read the full article >> bit.ly/3Qr1lTp

Portfolio update: @Sequent_Tech appoints a new CRO. Our portfolio company, Sequent Tech, continues to grow and welcomes @gal_haselkorn as Chief Revenue Officer. Gal brings over 20 years of experience building and leading sales organizations at technology companies and previously served as VP of Sales at NiCE. Sequent provides a digital voting platform that enables remote voting from anywhere in the world, with strong cybersecurity and full cryptographic verification of election results. The platform has been used in more than 300 elections globally, including municipalities in Canada, political parties in Europe, universities, and professional associations. Over 4.5 million voters have used it so far, including in one of the largest verified digital elections, the Philippines' overseas national voting process, with more than 1.23 million participants. Proud to back the team, excited to have Gal on board. @Calcalistech article >> bit.ly/47WfvBW

What does it actually take to raise a Seed round? 2025 data shows the answer depends on who you ask, and the gap between VCs and angels is more than nuance, it’s a different direction. What worries VCs? The top concern in 2025 is follow-on funding. 57% of funds point to it as the main challenge (up from 49% in 2024). In other words, they’re thinking about whether you can close your Seed, not just build a product. 54% also highlight the ability to generate US-based traction, and 35% point to breaking through market noise. What dropped? Market validation went from 56% in 2024 to 41% in 2025. VCs are less focused on “is there a market” and more on “can this team reach it fast enough.” How do angels see it? Different picture. Market validation is still #1 at 60%, followed by US traction (45%) and standing out (36%). While VCs are already thinking about your Seed, angels are still focused on the basics: does anyone actually want this, and can you get in front of the right people? What does this mean? Getting to Seed now requires doing both at the same time: proving real demand to angels, and proving speed and fundraising ability to VCs. Not the same job, which is why the 12–16 months after Pre-seed need to be planned carefully. Read the full report here >> bit.ly/47YT6DZ

Pre-seed Report | A data point worth knowing There’s a question investors rarely ask in the first meeting, but everyone is thinking about it: “Are they really all-in?” The 2025 data shows that this question has become more critical than ever, and expectations have shifted sharply. A clear majority of funds (65%) and angel investors (around 80%) expect to see all founding team members working full-time before deciding to invest. The most common expectation today is that all founders are already working full-time for at least a few weeks before the first meeting, a requirement that has strengthened significantly among angels, reaching 46% in 2025. We’re also seeing a sharp ~50% drop in angels’ willingness to invest in teams where founders are still employed elsewhere. The model where only the CEO is full-time has also lost relevance and now represents less than one-fifth of investors. Why is this happening? In a world where anyone can build an MVP in weeks using AI tools, technical ability is no longer the differentiator. Commitment is. Investors want to know that the founders in front of them have taken a real risk, that they’ve given something up, and that they’re here because they believe in it, not because it’s an interesting side project. The bottom line for founders: before the first meeting even happens, the market expects to see a team that has already made the leap. Because if you haven’t taken the leap yourself, it’s hard to convince someone else to take it with you. View the full report ➡️ bit.ly/47YT6DZ

@NFX @ViolaGroup @BessemerVP @vertexventures @SavyonVentures @loolvc @intelcapital @tauventures @GroveVentures @Vintage_Inv @TLV_Partners

In times of uncertainty, we ask one thing: how can we support founders who keep building? Together with Poalim Tech, we’re launching Office Hours for founders. 1:1 with top investors. 
Real feedback. Practical insights on fundraising, product, and what’s next. ~30 funds & angels are joining. Spots are limited → apply now. bit.ly/4ccEOko

Sweeter than #Nutella. No question.

@calcalist >> bit.ly/3OdKId5

Excited to share that our portfolio company @scale_ops has announced a $130M Series C at a valuation of over $800M. ScaleOps builds a system that automatically manages production environments, reducing the need for manual work from engineering teams. The reason behind the raise is clear. Infrastructure is becoming more complex and faster-moving, especially in AI-driven environments, and manual management can’t keep up. ScaleOps was built for this shift and is now defining a new category of autonomous cloud and AI resource management. Since its founding in 2022, the company has grown rapidly and is already working with leading companies such as Wiz, SentinelOne, Orca Security, and Cato Networks. We invested in ScaleOps in its first pre-seed SAFE round back in 2022, including the initial connection to NFX. One of our LPs was also an early angel in the company. The round was led by @insightpartners , with participation from all existing investors: @NFX ,@GlilotP , @lightspeedvp and Picture Capital. Yodar Shafrir, Yarden Weber, and the team - proud of you and your progress! Read the full TechCrunch article in the comments below.