Former NBA player Omri Casspi has secured a $60 million raise for his second seed-stage venture fund, Swish Ventures, marking a significant expansion of his growing investment empire in the Israeli tech ecosystem. The fund will focus on early-stage investments in cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI startups, with individual investments ranging from $5 to $7 million.
The successful fundraise brings Casspi’s total assets under management to $125 million, attracting an impressive roster of investors including Sequoia Capital, institutional investors from both Israel and the United States, and over 25 serial entrepreneurs. Notable backers include EON founder Ophir Ehrlich, Upwind co-founder Amiram Shachar, and Armis co-founders Yevgeny Dibrov and Nadir Izrael.
Microsoft Veteran Joins Leadership Team
Casspi’s investment track record has been particularly impressive, with his previous “Sheva” seed fund achieving a 2.18x TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In capital), placing it in the top 1% of venture funds according to Cambridge Associates. His portfolio includes notable successes such as Upwind, valued at approximately $900 million, and EON, which has reached a $1.4 billion valuation.
The fund has strengthened its leadership team with the addition of Dana Alexandrovich as Operating Partner. Alexandrovich brings extensive operational experience from her recent role as COO of Microsoft Israel and her previous position leading business planning and operations across 80 countries in the Middle East & Africa region.
Ori Striechman, a former youth national chess team member and ex-VP of Research at Cyberillium, has also joined the investment unit. Despite his young age, Striechman leads one of Israel’s largest entrepreneur forums for military technology unit veterans.
“We are launching Swish at a pivotal moment for Israel’s tech sector,” says Casspi. He emphasizes the industry’s crucial role not only in attracting foreign investment but also in serving as a diplomatic bridge. Casspi notes his team’s recent involvement in facilitating Elon Musk’s visit to Israel and collaborating with former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg in sharing accurate information about recent events in Israel.
The fund plans to invest in approximately ten startups, focusing on companies founded by serial entrepreneurs who are targeting large market opportunities in enterprise technology sectors.
