Yossi Matias
About Yossi Matias
Yossi Matias is Vice President at Google and the Head of Google Research. His teams work on foundational machine learning and algorithms, computing systems and quantum computing, science, AI for societal impact in health, climate and education, and generative AI. Recent research areas he lists include speculative decoding, generative UI, AI Co-Scientist, Earth AI, MedGemma, Flood Forecasting, FireSat and LearnLM. Wikipedia reports that he moved to Silicon Valley in 2024 to lead Google Research globally.
He joined Google in 2006 to establish its Tel Aviv R&D center and later merged the Tel Aviv and Haifa sites into a single Israel R&D center. For over a decade he was on Google Search leadership, working on products such as Google Trends, Autocomplete and Search Console. At Google he also founded or led initiatives including AI for Social Good, Crisis Response, the Google for Startups Accelerator and early work behind Google Arts & Culture.
Before Google he was on the computer science faculty at Tel Aviv University, a visiting professor at Stanford, and a research scientist at Bell Labs. He has published over 200 papers and is an inventor on over 80 patents. He is a Gödel Prize recipient, an ACM Fellow, and a recipient of the ACM Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award for work on streaming algorithms, data sketches and large-scale analytics. PitchBook lists an M.Sc. from the Weizmann Institute and a B.Sc., cum laude, from Tel Aviv University, both in computer science.
Yossi invests as an individual angel. His earliest recorded deal is Tonara, a music education company, which PitchBook and NFX Signal date to a seed round in early 2011. Most of his recorded activity is from 2021 onward.
Startup Nation Central describes him as leading Matias Ventures, a fund that invests in early-stage startups. Crunchbase describes Matias Ventures as led by Yossi and Michael Matias. Its Crunchbase page is based in Herzliya, Israel. Fund size and terms are not public.
The data providers do not agree on his deal count. Crunchbase lists 5 investments. PitchBook lists 10 deal records across 7 companies, including DataGen, timeOS and Walnut, which the other sources do not show. Treat the lists below as indicative and not complete.
Several recorded investments are AI companies. Leo AI is a generative AI engineering design platform. Startup Nation Central lists a pre-seed round in December 2023 and a seed round in September 2025. Enso builds autonomous AI-powered bots for small and medium businesses and raised a seed round in July 2024. Anyword is a marketing language optimization platform. Yossi took part in its Series B in November 2021.
Startup Nation Central also lists Q-Factor, a full-stack quantum computing company using neutral atoms, with a $24M seed round in April 2026. Terra Security, a seed-stage company in 2025, appears in Crunchbase, PitchBook and NFX Signal. His professional focus on AI and quantum research at Google overlaps with these areas, but he has not published a statement tying the two together.
Recorded deals are mostly pre-seed, seed and Series A, with some Series B participation. Sectors include generative AI, business software, health technology, education and music technology, and quantum computing. Tracxn lists the United States and Israel as his main investment locations. Startup Nation Central shows no lead investments and a mix of new and follow-on rounds.
NFX Signal lists an investment range of $5K to $50K with a $25K sweet spot. That is a third-party profile, and Yossi has not confirmed it publicly as far as we found. We found no public statement from him about what he looks for in founders or how he prefers to be pitched. Startup Nation Central lists him as an angel investor with an artificial intelligence industry preference.
- Leo AI: generative AI engineering design platform. Pre-seed in December 2023 and seed in September 2025, per Startup Nation Central.
- Enso: catalog of autonomous AI-powered bots for small and medium businesses. Seed round in July 2024.
- Terra Security: seed round in April 2025, listed by Crunchbase, PitchBook and NFX Signal.
- Sensi.AI: in-home virtual care platform. Series A in January 2022.
- Anyword: marketing language optimization platform. Series B in November 2021.
- Eleos Health: automated behavioral care workflow software. Seed round in September 2021, per Startup Nation Central.
- Q-Factor: neutral-atom quantum computing company. Seed round in April 2026, per Startup Nation Central.
- Tonara: music education platform. Seed round in early 2011.
- crunchbase.com/person/yossi-matias
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/106179-40
- signal.nfx.com/investors/yossi-matias
- finder.startupnationcentral.org/investor_page/yossi-matias
- tracxn.com/d/people/yossi-matias/__gKlXJR7argFUBleIW_Dg7HcRQKepFMdX8--
- crunchbase.com/organization/matias-ventures
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yossi_Matias
- sites.google.com/site/israelengineeringopenhouse/yossi-matias
Investing activity
Yossi Matias has made 5 investments according to Crunchbase across 5 portfolio companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Yossi Matias
Is Yossi Matias an angel investor?
Yes. PitchBook, NFX Signal and Startup Nation Central list him as an angel investor. Crunchbase records 5 personal investments, and he is also linked to Matias Ventures.
What is Yossi Matias's check size?
He has no public check size. NFX Signal, a third-party profile, lists a range of $5K to $50K with a $25K sweet spot. Treat that as unconfirmed.
What stage does Yossi Matias invest in?
His recorded deals are mostly pre-seed and seed, with some Series A and Series B participation. He has not led rounds according to Crunchbase and Startup Nation Central.
Which AI startups has Yossi Matias backed?
Recorded AI investments include Leo AI, Enso, Anyword, Terra Security and the quantum computing company Q-Factor. Sensi.AI and Eleos Health are health technology companies.
Does Yossi Matias invest outside Israel?
Tracxn lists the United States and Israel as his main investment locations. Most named portfolio companies have Israeli roots.
How can founders reach Yossi Matias?
He is on LinkedIn and X (@ymatias). He has not published a pitch process, so a warm introduction through a co-investor or mutual contact is the more likely route.
Where is Yossi Matias based?
Yossi Matias is based in United States, North America.