Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP)

About

Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) is an international venture capital firm founded in 1993 by Dr. Erel Margalit in Jerusalem, Israel ¹². The firm was established under the Israeli government’s Yozma program, which created ten privately managed venture capital funds to catalyze Israel’s VC industry ²³. JVP has since grown into one of Israel’s most prominent venture capital firms, with $1.9 billion in assets under management and over 165 companies built ¹.

The firm has raised approximately $1.4 billion across multiple funds since its founding ²⁴. Its most recent early-stage fund, JVP VIII, closed at $220 million in February 2019 with commitments from U.S. and European sovereign funds, international insurance companies, university endowments, and major global corporations from Europe and Asia ⁵. In 2021, JVP began raising a $450 million growth-stage fund (JVP Growth Opportunity Fund X), its third growth vehicle following two earlier growth funds of $100 million each ⁶. In September 2025, JVP closed a $290 million continuation vehicle in partnership with TPG to expand its stake in insurtech unicorn Earnix ⁷.

JVP maintains primary offices in Jerusalem and New York, with additional presence in Tel Aviv ¹. The firm has spearheaded the creation of regional innovation centers, including the AI and Media Center in Jerusalem, the Cyber Center in Beer Sheva, the FoodTech Center in Kiryat Shmona (Galilee), the Digital Health Center in Haifa, the Fintech Center in Tel Aviv, and the International Cyber and Climate-tech Center (HUB.NYC) in New York City ¹⁸.

Preqin ranked JVP sixth globally for most consistent performing venture capital fund managers in 2017, the only Israeli firm on the list, based on analysis of 138 firms and 767 funds ⁹. JVP founder Erel Margalit was named the top-ranking non-American venture capitalist on the Forbes Midas List in 2005 ².

To date, JVP has facilitated over 35 portfolio company exits, including 12 IPOs on NASDAQ ². The firm’s most notable exits include the sale of Chromatis Networks to Lucent Technologies for $4.8 billion in 2000, the IPO and subsequent growth of CyberArk Software (which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $25 billion in 2025), the IPO of QlikTech (later acquired for approximately $3 billion), and the sale of XtremIO to EMC for $430 million in 2012 ²¹¹⁰¹¹.

Stated Thesis

JVP publicly describes its focus as investing in “early-to-growth” stage companies across cybersecurity, AI, fintech, insurtech, and climate technology ¹¹². The firm emphasizes investing at “inflection points” in industries undergoing transformation.

Founder Erel Margalit has stated: “You can get phenomenal returns when you invest at an industry at the moment of inflection” ¹³. On JVP’s strategy, Margalit has said: “Over the next decade, we’re going to see up to fifty percent of the most well-known brands be surpassed and eventually displaced by a wave of disruptive companies” ⁵.

The firm describes its approach as hands-on company building, with General Partner Kobi Rozengarten explaining: “We see about 700 ideas every year, at least a few of them as disruptive as any idea you can imagine” ¹⁰. On fund strategy, Rozengarten noted: “With a fund of $120 million we do about 20 companies (over 3-5 years). With a fund of $400 million you would have to do too many companies” ¹⁰.

JVP positions itself not just as a financial investor but as a builder of regional innovation ecosystems. Margalit has stated: “The narrative of cities depends on technology and innovation, and if they don’t have a way to attract a younger, creative generation, they are lost” ⁸. On Israel’s food technology potential, he declared: “Food tech is the next cyber[security], and I believe Israel is on its way to becoming a superpower in the field” ⁸.

The firm’s JVP VIII fund specifically targets intersections of technology domains: computer vision with wellness, cybersecurity with fintech and insurtech, AI with retail and media, and big data with healthcare IT ⁵.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 30 verified portfolio companies and exits, the following patterns emerge. Note: JVP claims 165+ companies built, so this analysis covers approximately 18% of the total portfolio.

Sector distribution (30 verified companies): Cybersecurity dominates with 10 of 30 companies (33%), followed by enterprise software/SaaS at 6 of 30 (20%), fintech/insurtech at 4 of 30 (13%), AI/data at 3 of 30 (10%), consumer IoT at 2 of 30 (7%), climate/agtech at 2 of 30 (7%), semiconductors at 2 of 30 (7%), and telecom/networking at 1 of 30 (3%).

Stage distribution: JVP invests across stages from seed through growth. The check size range is reported as $100K to $5M for early-stage investments ¹², but the firm also makes substantial growth-stage investments — its $290M continuation vehicle for Earnix demonstrates willingness to concentrate capital in later-stage winners ⁷. The firm’s strategy of investing early, taking significant ownership, and then reinvesting to maintain stakes is well-documented ¹⁰¹³.

Geographic concentration: The portfolio is overwhelmingly Israel-headquartered, with many companies maintaining dual presence in Israel and the United States. JVP’s regional innovation center strategy (Jerusalem, Beer Sheva, Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, Tel Aviv, New York) shapes the geographic origin of portfolio companies ¹⁸.

Ownership approach: JVP is known for taking large ownership positions early and defending them through follow-on investments. At CyberArk’s 2014 IPO, JVP held approximately 40% of the company ¹⁰. Margalit’s strategy at Earnix — increasing ownership to over 50% through a $290M continuation vehicle — reflects this concentrated ownership philosophy ⁷.

Notable gaps vs. stated thesis: While JVP claims focus on climate-tech and foodtech, verified investments in these sectors are relatively thin compared to cybersecurity and enterprise software. The firm’s largest exits (CyberArk, Chromatis, XtremIO, CyOptics, Qlik) are all in cybersecurity, networking/semiconductors, or enterprise software — not in newer stated focus areas.

Exit pattern: JVP’s most successful exits trend toward long-hold, high-conviction bets. CyberArk was backed for over a decade before its IPO ¹⁰. The firm rejected a $150 million buyout offer for CyberArk and instead bought out other investors to maintain control ².

Portfolio

This table represents approximately 18% of JVP’s 165+ claimed portfolio companies. Many early investments from the 1990s and 2000s lack publicly available round details.

In Their Own Words

“You can get phenomenal returns when you invest at an industry at the moment of inflection.” — Erel Margalit, JVP Founder & Executive Chairman, in a Jerusalem Post profile ¹³

“Over the next decade, we’re going to see up to fifty percent of the most well-known brands be surpassed and eventually displaced by a wave of disruptive companies.” — Erel Margalit, JVP Fund VIII closing announcement, February 2019 ⁵

“We see about 700 ideas every year, at least a few of them as disruptive as any idea you can imagine.” — Kobi Rozengarten, JVP General Partner, Ynet News interview, 2014 ¹⁰

“With a fund of $120 million we do about 20 companies (over 3-5 years). With a fund of $400 million you would have to do too many companies.” — Kobi Rozengarten, JVP General Partner, Ynet News interview, 2014 ¹⁰

“I’m delighted to welcome my friends from Insight, Jeff Horing and Jon Rosenbaum, as we continue building a world class category leader, providing the muscles and the brains for Insurance and Banking, as they move to real-time quotes and personalized products.” — Erel Margalit, on Earnix’s $75M funding round, February 2021 ¹⁶

“The narrative of cities depends on technology and innovation, and if they don’t have a way to attract a younger, creative generation, they are lost.” — Erel Margalit, Times of Israel interview, 2022 ⁸

“Food tech is the next cyber[security], and I believe Israel is on its way to becoming a superpower in the field.” — Erel Margalit, Times of Israel interview, 2022 ⁸

“In recent years, Yoav and Fiona have demonstrated exceptional skills and success in the fields they are leading in the Fund.” — Erel Margalit, on promoting Tzruya and Darmon to General Partners ²²

“Our work with JVP’s partners and CEOs from the Fund’s portfolio over the past few years has been marked with significant successes and top financial performance.” — Yoav Tzruya, General Partner, on his promotion announcement ²²

“JVP is one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking VC funds in the world today.” — Fiona Darmon, General Partner, on her promotion announcement ²²

What Founders Say

Founder testimonials for JVP are limited in publicly available sources. The following represent the independently sourced statements found:

One portfolio company founder noted that JVP has “the vision and balls to invest when all other VCs only follow the herd” ²³.

Another portfolio founder praised “JVP General Partner Yoav Tzruya, for his professional guidance along the way, and whose efforts and dedication are admirable and noteworthy” ²³.

However, not all founder experiences have been positive. One founder review described concerns about “zero loyalty to the founders” and noted a “reputation locally for being particularly difficult to work with” ²³. Another founder described the investment process as “fine” with several meetings, but noted that “when the ball was in their court they disappeared” ²³.

Note: These reviews are sourced from a third-party investor review platform (BOUND) and represent a small sample. JVP’s portfolio spans 165+ companies; these reviews may not be representative of the broader founder experience.

Sources