Dean Meyer grew up in South Africa and, at just 14, left home to pursue a childhood dream of becoming a professional footballer at Dutch powerhouse AFC Ajax. Alongside his athletic career, he began learning to code and quickly developed a passion for software and technology.
After a short-lived sports career, Meyer chose to forgo university opportunities in the United States and instead move to Israel. The decision was driven by a deep professional curiosity about the Israeli tech ecosystem – sparked in part by reading Start-Up Nation – as well as a personal connection: his grandmother lost her entire family in the Holocaust before emigrating from Poland to South Africa, yet maintained a lifelong bond with Israel.
In Israel, Meyer studied computer science and graduated with honors. He later joined Team8, where he deepened his exposure to the local tech industry and worked alongside a former commander of Unit 8200. In this role, he was involved in leading investments in companies such as Talon and Dig Security.
He subsequently advanced to partner at Sequoia Capital, one of the world’s most influential venture capital firms, and now splits his time between Israel and San Francisco. Meyer was an early investor and board member in companies including Eon, Decart, Kela and Irregular, focusing on what he describes as “the geeky stuff” – infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and defense.
“The founders that excite me most have slope, distance traveled, and an irrational need to prove something to the world. They tend to concentrate the best talent around them and are also attracted to exponential markets. The intersection of this is most exciting.”
Beyond his investment work, Meyer is a co-founder of Start-Up Nation Mentorship, an international initiative that connects non-Jewish student leaders at leading global universities with Israeli leaders across technology, business and public sectors. The program aims to foster direct, in-depth exposure to Israeli society and innovation through mentorship, professional engagement and visits to Israel. This past December, the organization led a delegation of approximately 20 senior student leaders on a visit to Israel, including tours of communities near the Gaza border and meetings with families of hostages.
