UpWest

A Silicon Valley-based seed fund investing in Israeli founders innovating in the US/Israel tech junction and helping them scale in the US market.

Venture Capital Active Palo Alto, United States Est. 2012
Visit website ↗ LinkedIn
Last updated 2026-07-20
Portfolio
14
in our dataset
Rounds participated
26
Rounds led
9
Rounds' value
$671.4M
total disclosed, rounds participated
Stages
Pre-Seed, Seed

About

UpWest is a pre-seed and seed-stage Silicon Valley fund that invests in Israeli entrepreneurs. The firm focuses on a hands-on approach to accelerate the growth of its startups, providing seed funding, market access, capital, and a supportive community. UpWest is dedicated entirely to Israeli founders relocating to America, aiming to help them successfully navigate their expansion to the U.S. market. The firm was founded in 2012 and has invested in over 100 Israeli startups.

Portfolio · 14

Elio Labs
Elio Labs builds AI-native adaptive sensors that allow AI to decide what optical information to capture in real time.
2 rounds $23.2M committed Latest: 2026-07
Darwin AI
Empowering governments with tools to govern, monitor, and adopt AI—ethically, transparently, and at scale.
1 round $15.0M committed Latest: 2025-10
Zenity
Provider of governance and security solutions for low code applications and AI agents.
Led ★ 3 rounds $59.5M committed Latest: 2024-10
Salespeak.ai
An AI-driven platform that revolutionizes the B2B sales process by providing instant expert-level engagement and intent qualification.
Led ★ 1 round $3.5M committed Latest: 2023-07
Balance
The financial backbone B2B needs – real-time credit intelligence, embedded financing, and automation powering every transaction.
Led ★ 3 rounds $86.5M committed Latest: 2022-07
BBalance
A B2B e-commerce payments platform offering an online checkout with omni-channel support built for businesses.
Led ★ 3 rounds $86.5M committed Latest: 2022-07
CyCognito
CyCognito is an external exposure management platform that helps organizations identify and eliminate critical security risks by taking an attacker's view of their digital footprint.
Led ★ 4 rounds $153.0M committed Latest: 2021-12
Tillion Inc.
Developer of an AI-powered conversational data room for legal teams.
1 round $3.2M committed Latest: 2021-12
Zone7
AI-powered platform to predict player injury analytics and optimize human performance.
2 rounds $10.5M committed Latest: 2021-07
Alpha Tau Medical
Alpha Tau is a clinical-stage oncology company developing a novel alpha-radiation cancer therapy, Alpha DaRT, for solid tumors.
1 round $26.0M committed Latest: 2020-06
SentinelOne
AI-powered cybersecurity platform for comprehensive protection and threat intelligence.
Led ★ 2 rounds $202.5M committed Latest: 2020-02
Loadmill
Generative AI for Test Automation, unifying API, UI, and Performance Testing.
Led ★ 1 round $500K committed Latest: 2019-08
Veed.me
A video-creation marketplace that connects businesses with reliable and talented videographers.
Led ★ 1 round $1.0M committed Latest: 2015-02
Tapdog
Competitive intelligence engine for Enterprises.
Led ★ 1 round $500K committed Latest: 2013-06

Investment activity

26 portfolio exits on record.

Portfolio by sector

Business Software29
Cyber Security9
Health Tech & Life Sciences5
Media & Entertainment Technologies4
Fintech & Insurtech4
Undisclosed3
Automotive & Mobility Technologies3
Industrial Technologies3

Funds · 2

  • 4 — $70M Nov 2021
  • 3 — $18M Feb 2018

Q&A

What is UpWest's primary investment focus?
UpWest is a pre-seed & seed-stage Silicon Valley fund that invests in Israeli entrepreneurs, focusing on companies looking to enter or already established in the US market. They support companies across all product lifecycle stages and actively invest in domains such as Enterprise Software, IoT, Infrastructure Technologies, AI, Consumer Applications, Drones, Cyber Security, AR/VR, and Marketplaces.
What was UpWest's most recent fundraise?
UpWest raised Fund 4, a $70 million fund, in November 2021.
What are some of UpWest's recent exits?
UpWest has seen several exits recently, including Rotate, which was acquired by Check Point Software Technologies in February 2026, and Genoox, acquired by Qiagen for $80 million in May 2025.
Which portfolio companies has UpWest exited in the last two years?
In the last two years, UpWest has exited several companies, including Rotate (acquired by Check Point Software Technologies in February 2026), Genoox (acquired by Qiagen for $80 million in May 2025), and PerfectScale (acquired by DoIt in February 2025).
What is the typical investment stage for UpWest?
UpWest primarily invests at the Pre-Seed and Seed stages.
Can you name a notable public exit from UpWest's portfolio?
A notable public exit from UpWest's portfolio is SentinelOne, which went public on the NYSE in June 2021 with a valuation of $8.9 billion.
What is the sector focus of UpWest's portfolio companies?
UpWest's portfolio shows a strong concentration in Business Software with 29 companies, followed by Cyber Security with 9 companies, and Health Tech & Life Sciences with 5 companies.
Who are the founding partners of UpWest?
The founding partners of UpWest are Shuly Galili and Gil Ben-Artzy.
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