Tel Aviv

Torq’s $140M raise at a $1.2B valuation capped a coverage arc that increasingly casts Tel Aviv as a source of AI and cybersecurity startups.

Who they are

Tel Aviv appears in the coverage as a technology hub and company base, rather than as a single operating business. Its stories connect it to Israeli startups across cloud and SaaS security, AI infrastructure, biotech, enterprise software, gaming, communications and deep tech, as well as to global buyers and regulators.

The recent arc

Coverage reached its recent high in 2025Q2, driven in part by large strategic transactions, including SAP’s planned $1.5B cash acquisition of WalkMe and CrowdStrike’s agreement to acquire Adaptive Shield for roughly $300M. In 2024, the biggest attention centered on the reported US DOJ antitrust investigation into Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:ai, a Tel Aviv-based GPU-virtualization startup; Modern Times Group’s planned purchase of Plarium added another cross-border deal to the period.

The later coverage shifts from exits and scrutiny toward venture financing for AI- and security-oriented companies. Recent stories include Torq’s $140M raise, Sweet Security’s $75M round, Daylight’s $33M Series A, Remedio’s $65M financing, and Converge Bio’s $25M Series A, while Prisma Photonics and Second Nature broaden the picture beyond cyber into infrastructure monitoring and sales-training AI.

The tension

The central tension is between Tel Aviv’s role as a pipeline for globally valuable technology assets and the scrutiny that can accompany their acquisition or deployment. Nvidia’s Run:ai deal drew DOJ attention, while the Citizen Lab and Microsoft reporting on Tel Aviv-based QuaDream tied the city to mercenary-spyware concerns; against that backdrop, buyers such as SAP, CrowdStrike, PayPal, Apple, Samsung and Intel show persistent demand for companies built in the ecosystem.

Why it matters

If the current trajectory holds, Tel Aviv’s significance in coverage may increasingly rest on whether its AI and cyber companies can grow independently as well as become acquisition targets for global platforms. The concentration of funding in security operations, cloud protection and enterprise AI suggests durable commercial demand, but regulatory attention around high-profile transactions means future outcomes may depend on both product traction and the feasibility of cross-border consolidation.

Related: Israel · Nvidia · Sources: the US DOJ is investigating Nvidia's acquisition of Run:ai, a · Citizen Lab and Microsoft detail mercenary spyware from Tel Aviv-based · TechCrunch