Israeli tech showed its enduring strength in cybersecurity, with three startups emerging from stealth after raising a combined $340 million. But the same week brought another painful wave of layoffs, including monday.com cutting 20% of its workforce. AI-driven automation is part of the story, but so is the unusually strong shekel, which is increasing dollar-denominated costs and shortening runways for Israeli companies.
Israeli vertical AI just crossed a real threshold in H1 2026, from copilots that help people work to systems that run entire industry workflows. But the funding tells a more complicated story: $716M went to just 24 companies, half of it swallowed by three mega-rounds, and several "hot" categories are far more crowded than they look. Here's the full market map, by industry, with every funding round verified.
Investors spent H1 2026 heavily on agents, cyber, enterprise AI and defence. This data-backed Fall 2026 wishlist looks beyond crowded categories to ten problems founders should solve next
I spent just over 48 hours in Israel this week and left feeling optimistic. Away from the headlines, founders are building, investors are backing them, and Bank of America this week ranked Israel among the world's leading AI hubs. In this edition: why tokenmaxxing is the wrong metric, the biggest AI stories, funding rounds, exits and the wins worth celebrating across our "small" community.
Silicon Valley treated rising token consumption as proof of AI adoption. But tokens are an input cost, not a measure of value. As companies turn to cheaper Chinese models and Mira Murati launches Inkling, the market is shifting from tokenmaxxing to a better metric: the cost of producing a successful outcome.
Israel won’t win the AI race by building the biggest data centres. New research from Bank of America shows why the country’s long-term advantage lies in talent, silicon and software, not physical infrastructure.
Did you know that H1 2026 produced more Israeli unicorns than any other FULL year before? Also, what are the 5 areas most attractive for AI infrastructure according to Bessemer? and what is the hottest new AI category according to Benchmark?
The first wave of AI was measured in tokens. The next wave may be measured in tasks: expert judgment, workflow completion, labelled data, compliance, payouts and human-in-the-loop quality control. For Israeli founders, this is not just another freelance marketplace. It is a new AI supply chain.
For venture-backed startups, the path usually ends in one of three ways: IPO, acquisition or shutdown. But most acquisitions are not simple “success stories” or “failures.” They are a mix of timing, strategic fit, market consolidation, talent, leverage and preparation.
Global venture funding hit a record $510 billion in H1, and Israeli startups raised $8.4 billion in this period. Don't miss this Special 4th of July edition!
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore show that the next phase of innovation is not just about producing startups. It is about turning startups, talent, infrastructure and national strategy into durable technological advantage.
The honest state of early-stage funding: Data-driven signals from 128 tracked rounds in H1 2026
Weekly Firgun Newsletter
Join founders and investors reading the weekly Firgun newsletter by Eze Vidra.
