Tel Aviv University continues to consolidate its position as one of the world’s leading startup institutions. For the second year running, it has been ranked seventh worldwide and top worldwide outside of the US in PitchBook’s prestigious 2025 ranking for leading universities for entrepreneurs. The index examines which universities in the world count the biggest number of entrepreneurs among their graduates, based on the startups they have founded and the amount of capital they have raised from venture capital funds.
The data put Tel Aviv University on a par with elite institutions such as Stanford, Harvard and MIT. According to PitchBook, the university’s graduates have founded 736 companies in the past decade, raising a combined $30 billion, and have produced 865 entrepreneurs. Among the notable companies founded by its graduates: Lendbuzz, which recently filed a prospectus for an IPO and raised over $1 billion, and Next Insurance, which was sold for over $2.5 billion this year.
The Technion jumps to 10th
At the same time the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa has entered PitchBook’s top ten for the first time this year. The world’s top university for entrepreneurs is University of California, Berkeley followed by Stanford, Harvard, University of Pennsylavania and MIT. Tel Aviv and the Technion both were ranked higher than Yale, UCLA, Columbia and Princeton in 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th respectively.
Tel Aviv University chief entrepreneurship and innovation officer Prof. Moshe Zviran said, “The university is proud to continue to be the entrepreneurial university of the State of Israel. The fact that PitchBook ranks us at the top year after year is the best proof of our academic excellence and leadership in creating a generation of entrepreneurs who found companies, raise venture capital and move the Israeli economy forward.”
According to PitchBook, Technion graduates have founded more than a 1,000 companies over the past decade, led by about 1,300 entrepreneurs, who have raised over $43 billion. Of these, about 670 companies were founded by undergraduates alone, who have raised more than $26 billion. Among medium-sized institutions (15,000-30,000 students), the Technion ranks first in the Middle East and Asia, and fifth in the world. This figure illustrates the exceptionally high rate of entrepreneurs among its graduates relative to the size of the university.
Technion president Prof. Uri Sivan said, “Technion alumni are the main economic engine of the State of Israel and are largely responsible for the creation of Israel’s Startup Nation. In recent years the Technion has expanded and deepened entrepreneurship studies for undergraduates, alongside establishing t:hub, the Technion’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship and T3, the Technion’s commercialization arm, which helps identify technologies with commercial potential and connects researchers with industry, leading companies and entrepreneurs.”
In addition the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked 30, Reichman University was ranked 47, Ben Gurion University of the Negev was ranked 52 and Bar-Ilan University was ranked 90. Israel was the only country outside of the US with two universities in the top ten.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 17, 2025.
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