US credit card giant Visa began development activity in Israel this week, after buying Israeli startup BioCatch, its second-ever acquisition in Israel. The veteran cybersecurity company founded in 2011 is seen as one of the most important security suppliers to large banks in the US and Western countries.
The acquisition reflects a sharp increase in the valuation of the Israeli company in just two years: In 2024, 57% of its shares were sold to private equity fund Permira, which is managed in Israel by Ran Maidan, at a company valuation of $1.3 billion, while this week the valuation by Visa soared to $2.4 billion by Visa, making it one of Permira’s fastest and most successful exits in Israel.
Most of the Israeli investors in the fund, including early investors such as David Assia, Janvest and Jouie Ventures had already sold their shares in it. At the time of the sale on Monday, the company was backed mainly by foreign investors, the main ones being US private equity funds such as Permira, Sapphire and Macquarie, as well as venture capital funds such as Maverick, Blumberg Capital and American Express. However, Jerusalem-based investor group OurCrowd, which was one of the company’s first investors, is coming away with a large profit from the deal and is being handsomely rewarded for the close relationship maintained with BioCatch since 2015.
Wants qualified investors
Estimates are that OurCrowd received about $200 million in cash from the sale of shares in the various rounds, of which about $100 million was in this week’s sale, “Globes” learned. OurCrowd declined to confirm the details.
This is likely the most significant ever exit for OurCrowd, the Jerusalem-based investor group, which has a business model that differs from regular venture capital funds and has been criticized in the past by traditional venture capital investors. The group was founded over 15 years ago by chairman John Medved (who retired from the position of CEO at the end of 2025 and was replaced by Cali Chill), a former Jerusalem venture capitalist, who set up a network that brings together thousands of qualified investors for fundraising rounds when opportunities arise.
Thus, instead of relying on a small number of institutional anchor investors who will invest many millions of dollars, but will also dictate the terms of the fund to the management, as in other venture capital funds, OurCrowd operates in the opposite direction: it identifies investment opportunities in tech companies and then recruits qualified investors who can participate in the investment – even for a relatively small amount, such as ten thousand dollars – through its website.
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According to estimates by senior figures in the venture capital industry, while the sale to Permira reflected an average return of 7-8 times on the investment for OurCrowd, some qualified investors may have earned twenty times their investment in the new deal. The profile of qualified investors changes with each round, as does the value of the company at which the funding is being made.
In recent years, OurCrowd has changed the nature of its activities. In the past, it was the most active investor in early stage startups, but in recent years it has focused on investing in more mature companies and has also recruited institutional investors such as Japanese telecommunications company NTT and Swedish truck manufacturer Scania. The fund also finds investors who are preparing to invest in advanced rounds in tech companies that are already in an advanced sales stage. One of them is Anthropic, in which OurCrowd bought shares in an early-stage round in 2024, when the value of the AI giant was only $17 billion. The value of its holdings, which are made in partnership with many other investors (SPV), has increased over 50-fold, with Anthropic aiming for an IPO at a value of almost $1 trillion.
No response has been forthcoming from BioCatch and OurCrowd.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 6, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
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