That’s why we’re glad Fusion VC keeps publishing their annual Israeli Pre-Seed Report, now in its third year. At Remagine Ventures, we participated in the survey, as one of the most active pre-seed funds in Israel in 2025, and the data is very consistent with what we see day to day.
The report draws on data from 70 of the most active Israeli investors (37 VCs and 33 angels) and over 1,000 pre-seed companies. Below, we break down the key findings and put them in context alongside US benchmarks from Carta and Crunchbase.
The Macro Picture: Asymmetry Everywhere
Before diving into the Israeli data, it’s worth understanding the global backdrop.
In the US, seed funding didn’t stall in 2025, it bifurcated dramatically. US seed funding totalled $19.4B in 2025, according to Crunchbase, but deal counts and amounts in the $200K–$5M range were down roughly 20% year over year.
Only the upper bands grew: roughly 1 in 10 seed deals were $10M or more, outlier rounds of $50M+ surged over 300%, and 51% of all seed dollars flowed into deals of $10M and above (up from a third in 2024). The largest seed round of the year was $2B. Since 2018, seed rounds of $200K–$5M have shrunk from 70% of all seed funding to just 26%.
There’s more concentration in rounds. As I previously mentioned in February 2026, Less deals are being made, with larger amounts deployed.
According to Carta’s State of Pre-seed 2025 report, US startups raised $10.4B across 50,316 SAFEs and convertible notes in 2025. That’s a 1% decline in total cash invested versus 2024 — but a 13% decline in the number of instruments issued. Capital is concentrating into fewer, larger deals.
Where is all that money going? AI. Over 42% of all global seed funding in 2025 went to AI-focused companies (up from 30% in 2024), with more than $15B flowing into AI seed rounds alone. The Fusion report makes a similar observation: 50% of all US venture capital in 2025 was invested in just 1% of companies, and 70% went to the top 5%.
Israel mirrors this asymmetry. Cybersecurity companies raised approximately $4.4B across 130 rounds in 2025, accounting for 32% of all Israeli tech investment. For the first time, US funds invested more in Israeli cybersecurity than local funds did, even at the seed stage. The total number of funding rounds in Israel has declined steadily from 1,181 in 2021 to a projected 415 in 2025. The money is there, but it’s flowing to fewer companies.
This is what the Fusion report aptly calls “Consensus Capital”, mega-funds deploying large checks into perceived safe bets, pushing round sizes and valuations to all-time highs while leaving a shrinking number of deals for everyone else.
Israeli Pre-Seed by the Numbers
The core benchmarks from the Fusion report paint a clear picture of a market that’s maturing and getting more competitive.
Post-money SAFEs are now the default, with nearly two-thirds of VCs using them exclusively at pre-seed. In Israel, 64% of VCs and 69% of angels invest exclusively via SAFE, up sharply from prior years. In the US, Carta reports that the majority of early-stage rounds under $4M were completed using SAFEs or convertible notes in 2025, and SAFE valuation caps rose across deal sizes throughout the year.
Round sizes crossed $1M for the first time. The median pre-seed round is now $1M, with more than half of rounds landing in the $1.1M–$1.75M range. At the 75th percentile, rounds reach $1.25M–$1.45M. Founders are raising more, but they’re also expected to do more with it, and faster.
Valuations keep climbing, especially at the top. The median post-money valuation cap is $6.8M, up roughly 14% from 2024. But the real movement is in highly competitive deals: top-decile valuations jumped 17% to $13.5M (up from $11.5M), and the share of VCs investing at $15M+ caps grew sixfold to 18%. A two-track market is emerging, standard deals holding steady around $5M–$6M, while competitive rounds with serial founders or hot sectors command $10M–$15M+.
How Israel Compares to the US
This is where the data gets particularly interesting for founders thinking about where and how to raise.
The Fusion report itself flags the comparison: Israeli pre-seed remains priced at a 30%–40% discount to the US market. On Carta, the post-money SAFE with a valuation cap and no discount is now the standard US pre-seed instrument, with median caps hovering around $10M for rounds in the $250K–$1M range and $15M for rounds in the $1M–$2.5M range. In Israel, the median valuation cap sits at $6.8M, and even upper-quartile competitive deals only reach about $10M. The gap is persistent and significant.
Overall, Israeli pre-seed remains 30-40% cheaper than comparable rounds in the US.
An interesting structural difference: in the US, hardware and biotech/pharma emerged as the second and third largest pre-seed categories by total cash raised in 2025, a shift from 2024.
In Israel, Enterprise SaaS/AI remains dominant (62% of VC investments), but Fintech & Insurance surged to second place (38%), followed by Consumer (30%, a 100% increase from 2024). The Israeli ecosystem is diversifying, but in different directions than the US.
The time-to-seed expectations are converging across markets. Israeli VCs now overwhelmingly expect companies to raise a seed within 6–12 months (51%, up from 22% in 2024). In the US, the compression is similar, AI-enabled development means products ship faster, milestones arrive sooner, and investors expect the pace to match.
One area where the markets diverge: round dynamics. In Israel, 64% of angels now only join existing rounds rather than leading, and a growing share of pre-seed rounds are led by a single VC acting alone (35% of rounds, up from 22%). The co-lead model is fading. In the US, the pre-seed ecosystem is broader, with more institutional participants per round — but the concentration dynamic is similar: as one US seed fund manager put it, you’re either a fast-growing AI team that will raise big from a top firm, or you’re everybody else.
What Investors Want to See (and What’s Changed)
Several shifts in investor expectations stood out in the Fusion data, and they’re worth internalizing if you’re a founder planning a raise.
Full-time commitment is table stakes. About 65% of VCs and 80% of angels expect all founders to be working full-time before they’ll invest. The model of starting a company on the side and then raising once you’re “ready” is largely dead in Israel. At Remagine, we feel the same way — if the founders aren’t all in, why should we be?
The bar for traction is rising. In the age of AI, building an MVP is no longer differentiated — everyone can ship fast. Investors are shifting their attention to GTM: 58% of VCs now expect at least proof-of-concept or pilot-level traction, and 33% expect paying customers, even at pre-seed. Among angels, over 60% expect initial sales. The product is necessary but no longer sufficient.
Solo founders still face headwinds. Despite the growing cultural narrative around solo founders — and high-profile examples like Base44’s $80M acquisition by Wix — the data tells a different story. Over 75% of VC funds made zero investments in solo founders in 2025. Angels are more open (48% made at least one solo-founder bet), but at the institutional level, team composition still matters enormously.
Fundraising is now the top challenge. For VCs, raising additional capital overtook market validation as the biggest challenge facing their portfolio companies (57% vs. 41%). For angels, market validation and US-based traction remain the primary concerns. The implication is clear: founders need to plan their runway carefully and treat the fundraising process as a continuous effort, not a discrete event.
What This Means for Founders Raising in Israel
If you’re building a company in Israel and thinking about a pre-seed round, the data points to several practical takeaways.
First, plan for a round of $1M–$1.5M at a $5M–$7M valuation cap on a post-money SAFE. That’s the market centre of gravity. If you’re a repeat founder in a hot space, you may command more, but don’t anchor to US benchmarks.
Second, get to market before you raise. The days of raising on a deck and an idea are mostly over. Show early signs of product-market pull: even a handful of pilot customers or design partners will materially improve your position.
Third, move fast. Investors expect you to reach seed-readiness in 6–12 months. Structure your round to give you at least 16 months of runway (12 months of execution plus 4 months of fundraising), and set milestones accordingly.
Fourth, understand that the Israeli pre-seed market is concentrating. Fewer investors are leading rounds, and those who do lead are increasingly doing so alone. Identify your target lead investor early and build the relationship before you’re actively raising.
And finally, recognize that the 30%–40% valuation discount to the US is a feature, not a bug, at least from the investor’s perspective, and arguably from the founder’s too. Lower valuations mean less pressure at seed, more room to grow into your valuation, and a larger margin of safety for everyone involved.
At Remagine Ventures, we were one of the most active pre-seed investors in Israel in 2025, and we plan to stay that way. If you’re building something interesting, even at the earliest stages, we’d love to hear from you. It’s never too early to start a conversation.
Part of VC Cafe’s Pre-Seed Funding hub
For more fundraising benchmarks and founder guidance, visit the Pre-Seed Funding hub. Related reads: What Pre-Seed Actually Means in 2026 and Raising a Pre-Seed in 2026.
He is a former General Partner at Google Ventures (GV) in Europe, former head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe, and founding head of Campus London, Google's first startup hub. Eze writes on Israeli tech, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and founder strategy.
He is also the founder of Techbikers, a nonprofit that brings together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read.
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