Team8
About Team8
Team8 Capital is a new venture capital vehicle leading investments in enterprise technology startups across various domains with a focus on data, AI, cybersecurity and fintech. Team8 Capital will invest at Seed, A and B rounds of funding, expanding on Team8’s Foundry model that builds new companies from scratch. Backed by strategic investors including Walmart, Microsoft, Cisco, Barclays and Moody’s, among others, Team8 has pioneered a signature Foundry model of creating new technology companies by identifying big problems that companies face, ideating novel solutions to solve them and supporting startup progression to success. Per Crunchbase, Team8 Capital has made 17 investments, 7 as lead investor across 12 portfolio companies, with 5 exits.
Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg and Liran Grinberg founded Team8 in 2014. All three are veterans of the Israeli military intelligence Unit 8200, which Zafrir commanded. Team8 Capital, the more traditional venture arm, started in 2019 when Sarit Firon joined as managing partner alongside Grinberg. Its first fund had $104M in commitments according to an SEC filing, and its second fund raised $235M in March 2024. In 2026 Team8 announced $365M in new capital: $265M for a third Team8 Capital fund and more than $100M for follow-on investments. Team8 says it now manages nearly $2B across eight funds. The AI-relevant Team8 Capital team is managing partners Firon and Grinberg and partners Ori Barzilay and Hadar Siterman. Barzilay was promoted to partner in July 2025 to lead investments in cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure and AI. Matthew Schoenfeld joined as operating partner for go-to-market support. Team8 reports more than 90 in-house company builders and a network of enterprise executives.
The third fund targets AI-native companies in cybersecurity, software infrastructure, fintech and digital health. Stated areas of interest are AI infrastructure, orchestration, identity, data and security, and the gap between enterprise AI adoption and security. Firon has said the firm will stay in software rather than chips or data centers. Fund three planned about 16 Israeli-founded companies, according to Times of Israel. The firm had made nine investments from it before the final close, and the fund recorded its first exit when Palo Alto Networks acquired Koi Security. Recent examples are Tribal, a $10M seed round led by Team8 in May 2026 with Barzilay commenting, and BAND, a $17M seed round in April 2026. Team8 also keeps its company-building model, in which it identifies a problem and starts the company with founders.
The third fund invests mainly at Seed and Series A. Team8 Capital's stated range since launch is Seed, A and B. Team8 has not published a standard check size. Tracxn data shows an average round size of $13.1M at Seed and $18.9M at Series A for rounds Team8 joined. These are round sizes, not Team8's own checks. The $100M+ follow-on pool is reserved for existing portfolio companies.
- Tribal: enterprise-native AI agent platform for systems such as Salesforce, ServiceNow and SAP; $10M seed led by Team8, May 2026.
- BAND: AI agent interaction layer; $17M seed, April 2026, with Hetz Ventures and Sierra Ventures also named as investors.
- SolidData and Solid: $20M seed rounds in February 2026 on the Lounge deals desk; round details were not confirmed in the sources reviewed.
- Koi Security: cybersecurity startup funded from the third fund; Palo Alto Networks reportedly acquired it in 2026 for about $400M.
- Classiq, FundGuard and Port: portfolio companies from earlier Team8 Capital funds (quantum software, financial software infrastructure, developer portal).
- timesofisrael.com/backed-by-walmart-and-cisco-israels-team8-raises-365
- calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/h1utecy8fx
- calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/s1c8qzvdel
- timesofisrael.com/team8-sets-up-new-fund-to-invest-in-enterprise-techn
- timesofisrael.com/israeli-cybersecurity-firm-team8-gets-walmart-airbus
- newswire.com/news/team8-raises-365-million-to-back-the-next-generation
- finance.yahoo.com/news/team8-expands-cyber-ai-focus-162600810.html
- hpcwire.com/aiwire/2026/05/20/tribal-raises-10m-seed-to-bring-context-
Investing activity
Team8 appears in 4 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $57M, and led 3 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $20M. The most recent are Tribal (Seed, $10M, May 2026), BAND (Seed, $17M, Apr 2026) and Solid (Seed, $20M, Feb 2026).
Team8 most often invests alongside SignalFire, DYDX, Hetz Ventures and Sierra Ventures, and the companies it backs on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Team8
Who founded Team8 and when?
Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg and Liran Grinberg founded Team8 in 2014. Team8 Capital, its venture fund arm, launched in 2019 with Sarit Firon.
How big is Team8's AI fund?
Team8 Capital's third fund is $265M, announced with more than $100M for follow-on investments. Team8 reports nearly $2B in total assets under management.
What stage does Team8 invest in for AI startups?
The third fund focuses on Seed and Series A. Team8 Capital's stated range since launch is Seed to Series B. Team8 has not published a typical check size.
Who should AI founders pitch at Team8?
Ori Barzilay leads investments in cybersecurity, enterprise infrastructure and AI. Sarit Firon and Liran Grinberg are the managing partners of Team8 Capital.
What kinds of AI companies does Team8 back?
It backs AI-native companies in cybersecurity, software infrastructure, fintech and digital health. It names AI infrastructure, orchestration, identity, data and security as priorities.
What AI companies has Team8 invested in?
Team8's AI investments include Tribal, BAND, Solid and SolidData. The 4 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Team8 based?
Team8 is based in New York City, New York, United States.
What stage does Team8 invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Team8 has invested at Seed, with a median round of $20M. Team8 led 3 of those rounds.
Who does Team8 co-invest with?
Team8's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are SignalFire (2 deals), DYDX (1 deal), Hetz Ventures (1 deal) and Sierra Ventures (1 deal).
How can founders reach Team8?
Founders on Lounge can see Team8'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 Team8 to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.