OurCrowd’s Medved bullish about defense tech as he steps down as CEO, becomes chairman

After two years of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Israel’s tech ecosystem is set to thrive, with foreign investors having remained committed throughout the Gaza war particularly in sectors like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and defense, said Jon Medved, the outgoing CEO of venture investment platform OurCrowd.

“During the midst of war in Gaza, participation of overseas funds in investment deals in the local tech ecosystem reached over 90%. In other words, 90% of all the funding rounds in Israel are involving overseas partners,” said Medved. “Despite all of the issues with our brand, the anti-Israel sentiment [over Israel’s conduct in Gaza], multinationals continue to be active here, back us and work with us because they have no choice, and because it makes good business sense.”

“All of this means that when peace breaks out, which Trump willing and working, as well as with our government, then it should all only be increased dramatically and we are feeling it on the part of global investors. Those who have been investing here want to continue, and those who haven’t invested want to start,” Medved added.

In recent days, the Trump administration has increased its efforts to cement a fragile ceasefire agreement it helped to broker last week to end the war in Gaza, which was sparked by the Hamas terror group’s onslaught on southern communities in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Medved, 70, spoke to The Times of Israel on Tuesday as Jerusalem-based venture capital platform OurCrowd announced that he will step down as CEO and transition to the role of chairman. Cali Chill has been appointed acting CEO to oversee day-to-day operations across the firm’s global investment activity and platform services. Chill joined OurCrowd seven years ago and most recently served as chief investment officer and chair of the firm’s investment committee.

“One of the reasons that I’m becoming chairman is that after 12 plus years, I believe in passing the reins over to younger people, especially now that I have disclosed my diagnosis with [the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis] ALS,” Medved shared. “I need to cut back to a simple 8- or 10-hour workday and I can no longer do the 16-hour plus crazy travel schedules.”

“I hope to get back on the road at some point,” he said.

US-born Medved, who has been active in the Israeli tech ecosystem as a serial entrepreneur and investor for the past 40 years, set up OurCrowd in 2013 to create a crowdfunding vehicle that promises to “democratize” investing, once reserved for institutions and insiders.

The venture investment platform now has 240,000 registered members across 195 countries who can invest as little as $10,000. OurCrowd manages $2.6 billion in assets and has invested in over 500 startups that have achieved exits, including Israeli insurance tech company Lemonade, plant-based protein company Beyond Meat, and Uber. OurCrowd was named the most active venture capital investor in Israel by research firm Pitchbook, and boasts a portfolio of 68 funds.

In his role as chairman, Medved will focus on OurCrowd’s strategic initiatives, including the firm’s global expansion.

Looking ahead, Medved said he was “bullish” about Israel maintaining its “leadership in the global technology market.”

“There is this unbelievable, almost lack of correlation between the geopolitical arena and the Israeli tech sector,” said Medved. “It derives from one basic fact, which is that tech investing is all about how to deal with risk.”

“It turns out that there’s nobody better able to handle risk than Israeli entrepreneurs, who have shown to investors that despite massive callup of reserve duty and flight disruptions during the challenging war period, their startups managed to survive,” he said.

Israel has come through the longest and most intense war in its history over the past two years, and yet, investment in the local tech market hit a three-year high in the first half of 2025. This took place even as many tech employees and startup executives were drafted into the army, the Israeli economy slowed, and investment rounds were delayed or put on hold, creating a problem especially for young startups burning through funding reserves before the next capital injection.

2025 is also emerging as a record year for Israeli tech exits, led by mega deals, including Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Wiz and Palo Alto’s $25 billion buy of CyberArk, according to data by the Israel Innovation Authority.

“Young startups is an area that needs more focus, but there’s no shortage of deals as the ecosystem is so vibrant at the moment,” said Medved. “Battle-tested startups and technologies led by entrepreneurs coming back from the war are going to do very well.”

Medved called on the government to step up and continue not just to support the tech industry, but to create the conditions for startups to thrive.

“That means making sure that our universities are strong, that research is backed, that reserve duty is not too onerous, and that Israelis all bear a fair share of this,” Medved commented.