Jumpspeed Ventures launches new $20 million fund for Jerusalem-founded startups
Jumpspeed Ventures launches new $20 million fund for Jerusalem-founded startups
The fund will invest roughly $250,000-$1 million, typically leading or co-leading a startup’s inception round for “a small handful” of new companies each year.
Jumpspeed Ventures has announced it has closed on Jumpspeed Ventures II, a new $20 million VC fund exclusively for inception-stage, Jerusalem-founded tech startups. The fund means that the firm now has $40 million under management, representing a significant amount dedicated to Jerusalem.
“I simply believe that Jumpspeed’s hyper-local focus gives us an inherent advantage in sourcing and winning potentially high-returning opportunities from this vibrant yet under-exposed ecosystem,” said Ben Wiener, Jumpspeed Ventures’ sole General Partner. “There is a strong spirit of camaraderie and ‘firgun’ among our Jerusalem entrepreneurs that people tell me they don’t find to be as strong in other cities.”
The fund will invest roughly $250,000-$1 million, typically leading or co-leading a startup’s inception round for “a small handful” of new companies each year. Its previous fund was $17 million and portfolio companies include BreezoMeter (acquired by Google in 2022), Fullpath, Neurokaire, MDI Health, Lidwave, and others. While the VC firm is technically sector-agnostic, it avoids some sectors such as pharma and biotech. To date, over one-third of its portfolio companies have been female-led.
Jerusalem is not considered a large tech hub compared to Tel Aviv standards, but the city still has a few hundred startups that each seek inception funding every year. According to StartupBlink, Jerusalem has 255 startups and remains the 2nd best startup ecosystem in the country. Wiener also serves as the Chairman of the Board of MadeinJLM, a non-profit that supports the Jerusalem startup ecosystem.
"It warms the heart and inspires hope to meet a person like Ben Wiener, who believes in Jerusalem, invests in Jerusalem, and that the reason for this is the centrality of our city in his inner world,” said city mayor Moshe Lion. “I hope his foundation will continue to help startups in Jerusalem, that's how you build a future!”
