Protego Ventures closes debut $125 million fund for Israeli protection tech

Defense and enterprise capital used to not often overlap, however that’s not the case. Defense tech VC dealmaking set a record in Q1 2026, and new VC companies have emerged across the globe to speculate solely in protection startups.

One of those is two-year-old Protego Ventures, which presents itself as the primary and largest devoted protection tech VC in Israel. Led notably by two girls, Lital Leshem and Lee Moser, it has simply accomplished the ultimate shut of its debut fund with $125 million in capital commitments, TechCrunch realized completely.

This fund dimension is enabling Protego to speculate between $5 million and $50 million per firm, with a give attention to startups “addressing the essential protection and safety wants of Israel and the worldwide group,” in accordance with its web site.

These embody the likes of drone maker XTEND, its first portfolio firm, which went public on the NYSE earlier this month. That’s additionally why Protego stopped in need of its $150 million goal: a smaller fund magnifies the affect of a single massive win on total returns, and with XTEND now wanting like a possible “fund maker” — a single funding able to returning the entire fund — elevating extra capital would solely dilute that upside amongst a bigger pool of buyers. “Nobody needs to share the pie,” Leshem mentioned.

Ares Management is considered one of Protego’s greatest backers. The funding agency recommended that Leshem and Moser be part of forces and begin Protego within the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel, with the conviction that new applied sciences could be key to boosting Israel’s protection capabilities within the face of recent threats, Leshem mentioned.

With a $30 million funding as a restricted companion, Ares gave Protego the help it wanted to begin investing instantly, Leshem mentioned. Besides XTEND, its portfolio additionally consists of startups resembling ASIO, which develops situational consciousness techniques and has partnered with Anduril.

Leshem says the reception in protection circles has been robust. “On the army aspect, there’s loads of respect, and persons are coming — even beneath the radar — to speak to us, to study from us, to coach with us, and for positive get our expertise and innovation.”

Still, the Israeli market is simpler to navigate for insiders, and Protego’s two founders are leaning into their networks. Moser, a seasoned enterprise capitalist, will stay a managing companion on the generalist VC agency AnD Ventures. As for Leshem, who co-founded a startup that was acquired for $625 million in 2025, she additionally brings 11 years of expertise within the army and intelligence subject to their strategy.

“Everything modified on October 7,” Leshem instructed TechCrunch. She was deployed, whereas pregnant, as a reservist on the day of the assaults. “And mainly till the supply room, I used to be there, witnessing and getting the first-row seat to how the battlefield acted in another way from what I knew up to now decade.”

Protego gained’t have the sector to itself for lengthy. Israeli authorities have taken discover of the identical shift, awarding VC companies Adir Capital and Sling Capital about $33 million in state ensures to spend money on army and dual-use applied sciences, with other funds additionally elevating capital for related bets. (Leshem mentioned Protego was too far alongside in its personal fundraising to participate within the authorities’s tender.)

Protego, in the meantime, is already planning its subsequent transfer: a second fund within the first quarter of 2027, backed by Israeli institutional buyers and one giant U.S. dedication Leshem has already secured, with a broader scope that features early-growth American defense-tech firms.