“At the age of 28, I took on a challenge – to step into the shoes of a senior investment manager at the VC of Team8 venture capital fund”, testifies Ori Barzilay, who, as Principal at the fund, is responsible for investment in the fields of cyber, data, AI, DevOps and cloud computing. “The prior acquaintance with one of its founders, Liran Grinberg, helped me understand that this is the right decision, and within just six months at Team8 I had already led two important investments: one, a $23 million investment in the startup Port; and the second was a $6 million investment in the startup Clover”.
Before joining Team8, he worked as a Senior Associate in Pitango’s investment team. There he led early-stage investments – from deal sourcing, through rigorous due diligence, including post-investment accompaniment. Parallel to work, he managed to initiate “First Shift” – a project aimed at training and assisting graduates of elite intelligence units like 8200, General Staff, 504, or Unit 81 – to take their first steps in the world of entrepreneurship.
During his army duty he served as the Technology Officer for one of Israels’ elite unites. “In that role I led operational projects that included technological developments and operational products for field warfare. In parallel, I managed a regular and intensive work interface with seniors in various intelligence units and military industries. When the war broke out, I reported for reserve duty to assist in the war effort, managing technological projects”, he recounts.
“Thanks to working at Team8, I manage to accumulate knowledge that cannot be acquired in any higher education institution”, Barzilay testifies, “This is exactly where my aspirations for the future stem from – to be a partner in a venture capital fund and support Israeli ventures, to become an entrepreneur myself and build a company that will be unique in the Israeli landscape”.
