From a $3 million investment to a $200 million exit: The Jerusalem fund's success
The mega-deal in which Visa acquired BioCatch at a $2.4 billion valuation yielded the Jerusalem-based investor group OurCrowd about $200 million. The fund, which operates on a unique model, also holds shares in the AI giant Anthropic.
American credit giant Visa entered development operations in Israel this week, carrying out the second acquisition in its history by buying the Israeli startup BioCatch. Founded in 2011, this veteran cyber company is now considered one of the most important providers of security solutions for large banks in the USA and Western countries.
The acquisition provides the Israeli company with rapid value creation: in 2024, 57% of its shares were sold to the private equity fund Permira (managed in Israel by Ran Meidan) at a market valuation of $1.3 billion; this week, it received a $2.4 billion price tag from Visa, marking one of the fastest and most successful exits for Permira in Israel.
Most early Israeli investors, such as David Assia, or funds like Janvest and Joule Ventures, had already sold their shares. At the time of the sale, the company was backed mainly by foreign investors, including Permira, Sapphire, Macquarie, Maverick, Blumberg Capital, and American Express. However, the Jerusalem-based investor group OurCrowd, which was one of the first investors in the company, is exiting with a large profit, receiving a handsome reward for the close relationship it maintained with the cyber company since 2015.
Seeking qualified investors
According to estimates, the fund brought in about $200 million in cash from the sale of shares across various rounds, with about $100 million coming from this week's sale, as learned by Globes. The fund refused to confirm the details.
This is arguably the most significant exit for OurCrowd, the Jerusalem-based group that established a business model different from traditional venture capital. Founded by chairman Jon Medved (who retired as CEO at the end of 2025, succeeded by Kelly Tshil), the group brings together thousands of qualified investors for funding rounds as opportunities arise. Unlike traditional funds that rely on a few institutional anchor investors who dictate terms, OurCrowd identifies opportunities and recruits qualified investors who can participate even with relatively small amounts, such as ten thousand dollars, via its website.
Industry experts estimate that while the sale to Permira reflected an average return of 7–8 times the investment for early participants, some qualified investors may earn up to twenty times their investment in this new deal. In recent years, OurCrowd has shifted its focus from young startups to more mature companies, recruiting institutional investors like Japan's NTT or Swedish truck manufacturer Scania.
The fund also identifies investors for advanced rounds in high-tech companies. One such example is Anthropic, in which OurCrowd managed to purchase shares in 2024 when the AI giant's valuation was only $17 billion. The value of its holdings, made in partnership with other investors (SPV), has grown more than 50 times as the company aims for an IPO with a valuation of nearly a trillion dollars.
Personal and professional acquaintance
Returning to BioCatch: the fact that OurCrowd maintained a 10% stake until shortly before the first sale two years ago is linked to interpersonal and professional relationships. BioCatch's CEO in recent years, Gadi Mazor, served as OurCrowd's CTO in its early years, overseeing the building of its investor network after being recruited by Medved in 2012.
Two years later, BioCatch's founders — the late Avi Rosenbaum and his partner Avi Turgeman — approached him. Turgeman knew Mazor from their joint service in Unit 8200. "We were excited about the company and invested $3 million out of a $6 million round back in 2014," says Mazor. According to PitchBook, the company's valuation at that time was only $25 million.
After Rosenbaum passed away, the company entered a difficult period. The director appointed by OurCrowd, Howard Edelstein, was named chairman, and his appointment improved the company's functioning, leading to the involvement of foreign funds like Bain Capital and Maverick Ventures.
Valuation jumped above a billion
Ahead of a new $30 million funding round, the board of directors asked to appoint Mazor as CEO. "The company then brought in $7 million a year from seven different banks," Mazor said. He agreed to take the role after seeing the product's proof of concept and its high-paying customer base.
Mazor was appointed CEO in Israel in 2017, while Edelstein managed the global company from the USA. The BioCatch technology, which verifies users based on behavioral patterns, gained traction after American Express agreed to be the first to use the system. The pandemic-driven rise in remote work and fraud became a "golden age" for BioCatch, with the company's valuation climbing from $300 million in 2020 to $1.3 billion four years later.
