Israeli Tech Startups Raise $1.4 Billion in First Days of September
Israel’s technology sector has started September with an unusually strong burst of startup funding. Israeli and Israeli-founded companies announced around $1.4 billion in funding during the first three days of the month, with artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, enterprise software and autonomous systems attracting some of the biggest rounds. Four companies — Wonderful, Upwind, HiBob and Lyte — accounted for more than $1.18 billion of that total. Separate figures from CTech put the amount raised in the first two days alone at $1.164 billion, almost twice the $585 million Israeli startups raised during the whole of September 2025.
AI and cybersecurity take the biggest rounds
The largest deal came from enterprise AI company Wonderful, which raised $550 million in a Series C round at a valuation of about $5 billion. The company develops AI agents that can handle customer-facing and operational tasks for businesses. Wonderful’s latest round is particularly notable because the company has expanded rapidly. Its reported revenue run rate has grown to around $70 million, while its workforce has reached roughly 650 employees.
Cloud-security company Upwind followed with a $300 million funding round that valued the company at approximately $3.8 billion. Its technology monitors cloud environments while applications are running, helping organizations identify security risks based on how workloads actually behave. The two companies together raised $850 million, accounting for a substantial portion of the month’s early funding activity.
Enterprise technology and autonomous systems join the rush
The funding was not limited to AI and cybersecurity. Israeli-founded HR technology company HiBob raised another $166 million in a round led by Salesforce, while autonomous-machine technology company Lyte secured $165 million. Lyte is developing perception systems that help machines understand and interact with their physical surroundings.
Other startups also announced sizeable investments. AIR Security emerged from stealth with $50 million for technology aimed at protecting enterprises from security risks created by AI agents. AITAN raised $41 million for autonomous defence and edge-AI technology, while cybersecurity startup Huskeys secured $27 million. Consumer cybersecurity company Guardio also announced a $40 million round at a reported valuation of $1.1 billion.
AI is creating a new cybersecurity market
One of the clearest threads running through the latest Israeli tech funding is the growing connection between AI and cybersecurity. As businesses give AI agents access to databases, software and other company systems, those agents can also introduce new security risks. Startups such as AIR Security and Upwind are building products around that problem, while other Israeli companies are working on AI-powered infrastructure and autonomous systems. That combination gives Israel’s established cybersecurity sector another area in which to expand. The latest funding suggests investors are not only backing AI companies that build new applications, but also businesses developing the security and infrastructure needed to deploy those systems.
Venture capital activity adds to the momentum
The funding activity has also extended beyond individual startup rounds. Former Israeli NBA player Omri Casspi has raised $250 million for the third fund of Swish Ventures, bringing the firm's assets under management to around $800 million. The fund plans to invest in about 12 early-stage companies, with roughly $20 million earmarked for each investment.
Swish already has exposure to some of the companies behind September’s funding surge, including Wonderful and Upwind. Nine of the 21 companies in its portfolio have reportedly reached unicorn status. The first few days of September therefore tell a bigger story than a single record-setting funding round. Capital is moving into several parts of Israel’s technology ecosystem at once, from AI and cloud security to autonomous machines and defence technology.
With more than $1.4 billion announced in just three days, September has begun at a pace that is already well ahead of the previous month. Whether that momentum continues through the rest of the quarter remains to be seen, but the opening deals have put Israeli startups firmly back in focus for global investors.
