Hetz Ventures
About Hetz Ventures
Hetz Ventures, UK-based Venture Capital fund focusing on early stage Israeli start-ups.
Hetz Ventures launched in 2018. Crunchbase lists Andrew Feldman, Judah Taub and Stuart Roden as founders. Judah Taub is managing partner and co-founder, and was previously head of data at Lansdowne Partners. Stuart Roden is co-founder and general partner. Pavel Livshiz was a general partner when Fund III closed in 2022. The firm's timeline on its site lists these funds: Fund I at $55M (2018), Fund II at $77M (April 2020), a $27M Opportunity Fund, Fund III at $123M (2022) and Fund IV at $140M (January 2026). The site gives the firm's total as $500M. The firm's office is in Tel Aviv.
The firm describes itself as a seed fund for AI infrastructure and cyber. Fund IV was announced for Israeli AI/data infrastructure and cybersecurity startups. Hetz says it is the only Israeli VC in the partner programs of Databricks, Snowflake, Confluence and Grafana, and that it offers access to a network of 50+ security executives. Its recent AI work is mostly infrastructure and agent security. In 2026 it led Willow's $7M seed, for governing enterprise AI agents. It also backed keewano's $12M seed for a database built for AI agents. In 2025 its portfolio included Majestic Labs, which raised $100M for AI-native infrastructure, and Runhouse, which builds tooling for AI workloads. Prompt Security, an earlier portfolio company working on GenAI and agent security, was acquired by SentinelOne.
Hetz invests at pre-seed and seed in Israeli startups. The firm's site says checks go up to $10M and that Hetz leads about 80% of its seed rounds. Third-party profiles report average checks of $1M to $10M and occasional Series A follow-ons for portfolio companies. Hetz has not published a minimum check size or a standard ownership target.
- keewano: a database for the age of AI agents; $12M Seed (2026), Hetz led.
- Willow: governance and access control for enterprise AI agents; $7M Seed (June 2026), led by Hetz.
- Arrakis Security: $8M Seed (2026), led by Hetz.
- Onit Security: $11M Seed (March 2026), led by Hetz.
- Upriver: $14M Seed (June 2026), led by Hetz.
- BAND: $17M Seed (April 2026), led by Hetz.
- Oak: $60M Seed (July 2026), on the Lounge deals desk.
- Prompt Security: GenAI and agent security; acquired by SentinelOne.
- Majestic Labs: AI-native infrastructure; raised $100M in 2025.
- Opti: AI-native enterprise identity security; $20M Seed.
- Runhouse: tooling for building and deploying AI workloads; emerged from stealth in 2025.
- hetz.vc
- hetz.vc/news/a-look-back-at-2025-with-hetz-ventures
- techcrunch.com/2022/05/03/hetz-ventures-closes-third-fund-of-123m-to-f
- crunchbase.com/organization/hetz-ventures
- f4.fund/firms/hetz-ventures
- fintech.global/2026/06/05/hetz-ventures-backs-willows-7m-ai-agent-secu
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/225213-67
Investing activity
Hetz Ventures appears in 7 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $114M, and led 6 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $12M and the largest at $60M. The most recent are keewano (Seed, $12M, Sep 2026), Arrakis Security (Seed, $8M, Aug 2026) and Oak (Seed, $60M, Jul 2026).
Hetz Ventures most often invests alongside Remagine Ventures, DIG Ventures, a16z Speedrun and Amitai Ratzon, and the companies it backs on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Hetz Ventures
Does Hetz Ventures invest in AI startups?
Yes. Hetz calls itself a seed fund for AI infrastructure and cyber. Recent examples include Willow, keewano and Prompt Security.
What check size does Hetz Ventures write?
The firm's site says its checks go up to $10M. Third-party profiles report average checks of $1M to $10M, and Hetz has not published a minimum.
What stage does Hetz Ventures invest at?
Pre-seed and seed. The firm says it leads about 80% of its seed rounds, and reports note occasional Series A follow-ons.
How big is Hetz Ventures' latest fund?
Fund IV is $140M and was announced in January 2026. It follows Fund III at $123M, and the firm's site gives a total of $500M.
Does Hetz Ventures only back Israeli founders?
Its focus is Israeli startups, and its site describes it as an early stage investor in Israeli startups. Some portfolio companies have US offices.
What AI companies has Hetz Ventures invested in?
Hetz Ventures's AI investments include keewano, Arrakis Security, Oak, Upriver, Willow, BAND and Onit Security. The 7 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Hetz Ventures based?
Hetz Ventures is based in Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Who does Hetz Ventures co-invest with?
Hetz Ventures's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Remagine Ventures (1 deal), DIG Ventures (1 deal), a16z Speedrun (1 deal), Amitai Ratzon (1 deal) and Ofer Smadari (1 deal).
How can founders reach Hetz Ventures?
Founders on Lounge can see Hetz Ventures's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Hetz Ventures to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.