The Forbes list marking the next generation of Israeli tech unicorns is back: Forbes Israel is opening registration for its Next Billion Dollar Startups list for 2026 — the prestigious ranking that identifies the most promising Israeli startups with, according to industry insiders, the greatest potential to break the $1 billion valuation barrier in the coming years.
To assemble the list, Forbes Israel is reaching out to a select group of the most active and respected venture capital funds and investors in the Israeli ecosystem — those with a proven track record as significant players in the industry. They are invited to nominate their “crown jewels” — the companies they believe are best positioned to become unicorns in the years ahead.
Last year, more than 80 leading funds and investors from Israel and around the world participated in the Forbes Israel project. Their recommendations yielded more than 100 candidate companies, from which a final list was selected of the companies with the strongest prospects of joining the most prestigious club in Israeli tech.
Registration link >> Click Here
Selection Criteria
Each investor is invited to nominate up to four startups meeting the following criteria:
- Privately held, Israel-based companies that have raised venture capital, with valuations below $1 billion.
- A rapid growth trajectory.
- Meaningful potential to reach a $1 billion valuation.
Up to two of the nominated companies may be from the investor’s own portfolio. The remaining nominations must come from outside the fund’s portfolio. Companies that have previously appeared on the list are not eligible for a repeat spot.
Submission deadline: August 7, 2026.
Registration link >> Click Here
Innovation in Wartime: The 2025 List
The Next Billion Dollar Startups international project, which launched in Israel in 2021, has grown in scale and stature each year — reflecting the resilience of Israeli tech even at the height of a war. The list captures the full spectrum of Israeli innovation: from defense-tech, fintech, and quantum computing to cybersecurity and AI.
The 2025 list, published last year, spotlighted ten standout companies: Noma Security (Niv Braun); Buildots (Yakir Sudry and Uri Silberberg); Exodigo (Ido Gonen); Quantum Machines (Nissim Ofek); Agora (Bar Mor, Lior Dolinski, and Noam Kahn); Fundguard (Uri Katz); Bria.ai (Michael Feinstein); Pointfive (Amir Hozez); and Xtend (Aviv Shapira).
The reveal event was held at Microsoft Israel’s Reactor space in Tel Aviv, drawing senior figures from the venture capital world alongside leading entrepreneurs, investors, and technology company executives. The conference, framed around innovation and entrepreneurship in wartime, concluded on a note of considerable optimism about the future of Israeli tech.
Among the attendees: Ben Haklai, CTO of Microsoft Israel; Noa Asher, CEO of NTT Israel; Lior Pozin, founder and CEO of AutoDS; Tal Kollender, co-founder and CEO of Remedio; Renana Ashkenazi, general partner at Grove Ventures; and Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik.
The highlight of the event was the awards ceremony, during which the founders of the ten selected companies took the stage — a moment that symbolized the Israeli entrepreneurial spirit that continues to produce breakthrough companies, even during one of the most challenging years in the country’s history.
The 2026 list is set to be published in the coming months, followed by the annual event that will officially recognize the ten most promising companies of the year.
Promises Delivered: The Unicorns That Emerged From the List
Since Forbes Israel launched the Next Billion Dollar Startups list in 2021, six startups selected for the list have already crossed the $1 billion valuation threshold and earned unicorn status. Among them:
Fireblocks, the digital-asset infrastructure platform serving financial institutions, closed a $550 million Series E round in January 2022 at an $8 billion valuation. The company, founded by Michael Shaulov, Idan Ofrat, and Pavel Berengoltz, has raised more than $1 billion to date from leading global funds, including Sequoia Capital, Coatue, Index Ventures, and Alphabet’s CapitalG. Its customers include major international banks and financial institutions such as BNY Mellon and Revolut.
Verbit, the AI-powered transcription and captioning platform, crossed the $1 billion threshold back in 2021 with a Series E round at a $2 billion valuation. The company, founded in 2017 by Tom Livne, operates in the voice-AI space across the legal, academic, and media sectors.
Fabric, which runs an automated logistics platform for online retail, closed a Series C round in 2022 at a $1.5 billion valuation. The company, founded in 2015 by Ori Avraham, Eyal Goren, Shay Cohen, and Elram Goren, develops micro-fulfillment centers that combine robotics with advanced management software.
Firebolt, the cloud-based Data Warehouse engine, also closed a Series C round in 2022, propelling the company to a $1.4 billion valuation. The company was founded in 2018 by Eldad Farkash — who served as CEO — and Saar Bitner, who served as COO. Both are alumni of Sisense. Firebolt operates in the data infrastructure arena alongside players such as Snowflake and Databricks. Farkash today serves as chairman and Bitner as president.
JoyTunes, which has since rebranded as Simply, opened 2022 with a Series D round at a $1 billion valuation. The company develops AI-based instrument-learning apps, including Simply Piano and Simply Guitar, used by more than 50 million people worldwide.
Aidoc, selected for the Next Billion Dollar Startups list in 2022, has since joined the unicorn club as well. The company, which develops an AI platform for real-time analysis of medical imaging deployed in more than 1,000 hospitals worldwide, is now valued at more than $1 billion following a $150 million funding round, with revenue projections pointing to $100 million in ARR.
