Without seed capital: Four young Israeli entrepreneurs sell AI startup for millions of shekels

Four Israeli entrepreneurs, all 28, sold their AI startup Vizby less than a year after founding it, without raising outside funding from investors.

Four young Israeli entrepreneurs, all aged 28, sold their startup in a multimillion-shekel deal closed before the first year since the company's founding and without requiring any external funding from venture capitalists (VCs).

Vizby, an AI-centered company specializing in marketing and performance improvement, sold to Swap Commerce for an undisclosed sum worth "millions of shekels," according to the company.

Founded by Eylon Zefania, Yoni Cohen, Aviv Yovel, and Michal Elyasaf, the company offers an AI platform for Shopify sellers to improve their marketing and management strategies without needing to deploy a full team.

The company had been operating for only a couple of months before the acquisition, and it had received no substantial investment from VCs or other investors.

“AI is fundamentally changing both how we build companies and how consumers interact with businesses. What once required large teams and years of development can now be accomplished by a handful of people with the right vision and execution," Yovel told The Jerusalem Post.

"At Vizby, we saw an opportunity to prepare merchants for a future where AI agents play a major role in the shopping experience," he added.

Finding a solution over capital

According to a company statement, the founders focused on building a product with commercial potential and the ability to solve a marketing problem rather than spending that time raising resources and financing.

"Their focus was on creating a practical technological solution that addresses real challenges facing businesses in the competitive e-commerce industry," the company said.

The company also pointed out that this deal shows the potential of artificial intelligence in the innovation sector, with young people nowadays being able to create new products without needing large resources or financing.

"Young entrepreneurs are increasingly using AI tools to develop products faster and with fewer resources," the company said.

At Vizby, we saw an opportunity to prepare merchants for a future where AI agents play a major role in the shopping experience.”

"The Vizby acquisition highlights a new generation of Israeli entrepreneurship, demonstrating how four young founders, without outside investors or significant financial backing, managed to develop an AI business and turn it into a successful multimillion-shekel exit in less than a year," it added.