Firm led by first Israeli NBA player Omri Casspi opens new $250 million fund for high-tech startups

The announcement made by Casspi's firm, Swish Ventures, says that the funding will focus on 12 high-tech startups with an average value of $20 million each.

The first Israeli to play in the NBA, Omri Casspi, announced on Thursday that his venture capital firm, Swish Ventures, raised $250 million and reached $800 million in total funding.

The money will be used in the firm’s third fund, which will focus on some 12 high-tech companies in their initial stages - mainly seed or Series A -, while the average investment will be valued at $20 million.

Swish Ventures has already invested in top companies such as Cognition AI, Applied Compute, EON, and Wonderful, while eight of the 20 companies the firm has invested in have already become unicorns.

According to the firm, this new fund will focus on startups operating across cybersecurity, technology infrastructure, Physical AI, defense, AI for industrial applications, and government technology.

“Closing our third fund in a short period of time, with the support of some of the world’s leading institutional investors, is first and foremost a vote of confidence in the founders we back and the credit they deserve,” said Casspi in a statement.

Casspi’s portfolio exceeds $60 billion in little more than a year

The firm was founded in early 2025 and has built a combined valuation of its portfolio companies exceeding $60 billion.

Casspi has operated as the sole managing partner and has brought in new backers for this third fund, including US pension funds, leading American universities, family offices, and Sequoia Capital.

“For us, the new fund is a direct continuation of our focused strategy. We want to be the most meaningful partners to the world’s leading entrepreneurs,” Casspi said.

“We believe in carefully selecting a small number of exceptional founders each year, allowing us to serve as true partners to them throughout their journey,” he added.