Marius Nacht

Background

Marius Nacht is an Israeli entrepreneur, angel investor, and billionaire who co-founded Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) in 1993 alongside Gil Shwed and Shlomo Kramer ¹². Born in Romania in 1962, Nacht immigrated to Israel, where he earned a BSc in Physics and Mathematics (cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MSc in Electrical Engineering and Communications Systems from Tel Aviv University ¹³. He is a graduate of the IDF’s elite Talpiot technological academy and a retired IAF Captain ¹³.

At Check Point, Nacht co-invented Stateful Inspection firewall technology, a foundational innovation in network security ³. He served as vice chairman from 2001 and was appointed non-executive chairman in September 2015 ¹. He stepped down as chairman in 2020 after 27 years to focus on healthcare and biotech investing ².

In 2016, Nacht co-founded aMoon with Dr. Yair Schindel, a healthcare and life sciences venture capital firm ¹⁴. He also co-founded Aummune, a clinical-stage biotech company developing individualized treatments for solid tumors ⁵. In 2017, he founded 8400 The Health Network, a nonprofit aiming to establish Israel as a global leader in healthcare innovation ⁶⁷.

Nacht runs the Nacht Family Office and Nacht Philanthropic Ventures alongside his wife Inbar, supporting medical research, emergency services, and humanitarian causes ⁸.

His net worth is estimated at approximately $1.4 billion, primarily from his Check Point stake and investment portfolio ³.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Nacht says publicly about his investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Nacht has publicly described the convergence of healthcare and technology as his primary investment focus. He has stated that aMoon was founded to “get the science to market faster and more efficiently” and accelerate healthcare-technology integration ¹.

In a 2018 address, Nacht said: “Just like the internet and cybersecurity 25 years ago, we see the digitization of life sciences and healthcare as the next tsunami and the next growth engine for Israel” ⁷.

Nacht has indicated that approximately a quarter of the companies he invests in focus on personalized medicine, stating “that is where the most fascinating things are happening” ².

His motivation shifted after his father died of cancer, when he decided to redirect his capital and expertise toward healthcare ². In a Calcalist interview, Nacht stated: “I will not have another success like Check Point in the high-tech fields” but added that “in biotech I think so” ².

He has also emphasized investing in Israel specifically, stating: “Our advantage as entrepreneurs and investors is here in Israel” and “Israeli investors need to invest here” ².

Inferred Thesis

The analysis below is based on 22 verified investments from Nacht’s personal angel portfolio and aMoon-related deals, compiled from Tracxn, Crunchbase, and press coverage ⁹¹⁰¹¹.

Sector concentration (based on 22 verified investments): - Healthcare / life sciences / biotech: 9 of 22 (41%) — DayTwo, Regenera, Wisdo Health, Aummune, Ultima Genomics, AposHealth, and others via aMoon - Cybersecurity / enterprise security: 6 of 22 (27%) — Fireblocks, Salt Security, Secdo, GK8, Cynamics, Reflectiz - Deep tech / semiconductors: 3 of 22 (14%) — TriEye Technologies, NeuroBlade, ZutaCore - Enterprise / logistics tech: 2 of 22 (9%) — WaveBL, CommonGround - Other: 2 of 22 (9%)

Key patterns:

• Dual-sector investor: Despite his public emphasis on healthcare, cybersecurity still represents 27% of verified investments. His Check Point network gives him dealflow access to Israeli cybersecurity startups, and he frequently co-invests with other Check Point alumni (Shlomo Kramer, Nir Zuk, Mickey Boodaei) ¹²¹³.

• Israel-centric: Nearly all verified investments are in Israeli-founded companies or companies with significant Israeli operations. This aligns with his stated commitment to investing in Israel ²⁹.

• Stage range is broad: Nacht invests across stages — from seed ($4M in Fireblocks seed, $4M in GK8 seed) to growth ($600M Ultima Genomics round, $37M DayTwo round) ^12141516. His personal angel checks appear to range from $1M to $20M.

• Founder-operator turned investor: As a technical co-founder who built a $18B company, Nacht brings operational credibility. He takes board seats at select portfolio companies (Cynamics, Reflectiz) and serves as chairman at Regenera ⁹¹⁷¹⁸.

• Unicorn track record: 3 unicorns in portfolio — Fireblocks, Salt Security, and at least one other ⁹.

• Exit track record: 6 known exits including Secdo (acquired by Palo Alto Networks for ~$100M in 2018), GK8 (acquired by Celsius), Wisdo (acquired by Talkspace in 2025), CommonGround, and NeuroBlade (team acqui-hired by AWS Annapurna Labs) ⁹¹⁹²⁰.

• Notable gap from stated thesis: Nacht publicly emphasizes biotech and personalized medicine as his primary focus, but cybersecurity and deep tech still constitute a significant share (41% combined) of his verified portfolio. His angel investing in cyber appears to be driven by dealflow from the Check Point founder network rather than an explicit thesis.

• Co-investor patterns: Frequently co-invests with Israeli VC firms including Grove Ventures, Intel Capital, Cyberstarts, and StageOne Ventures ¹²¹⁴²¹. Check Point co-founder Shlomo Kramer appears as a co-investor in Fireblocks ¹².

Portfolio

This table represents approximately 18 of a claimed 30-40 personal investments ². Additional investments through aMoon (40+ life sciences companies ²) are not individually listed here as they are fund-level, not personal angel investments.

In Their Own Words

“Just like the internet and cybersecurity 25 years ago, we see the digitization of life sciences and healthcare as the next tsunami and the next growth engine for Israel.” — Marius Nacht, speaking at 8400 Health Network event, 2018 ⁷

“I will not have another success like Check Point in the high-tech fields. In biotech I think so.” — Marius Nacht, Calcalist interview, April 2022 ²

“Health is the main thing.” — Marius Nacht, Calcalist interview, April 2022 ²

“Our advantage as entrepreneurs and investors is here in Israel. Israeli investors need to invest here.” — Marius Nacht, Calcalist interview, April 2022 ²

“The growing connection between technology and health is generating a wave of innovation that can redefine medical treatment beyond our imagination.” — Marius Nacht, on aMoon II fund closing, 2019 ⁴

“Old age is a disease too, the FDA does not recognize it, but it is a disease.” — Marius Nacht, Calcalist interview, April 2022 ²

“If you compare us to a rock band, then each of us went our own way for a solo career.” — Marius Nacht, on the three Check Point co-founders’ divergent paths, Calcalist interview, April 2022 ²

What Founders Say

Ophir Shoham, who manages Nacht’s tech investments, said of the Cynamics investment: “Cynamics developed a very unique technology, which is network agnostic and easy to adopt, allowing the company to reach a wide variety of customers quickly” ¹⁷. (Note: This is from Nacht’s investment manager, not a portfolio founder.)

Lihi Segal, CEO and co-founder of DayTwo, stated regarding the $37M round led by Nacht: “This round comes after we proved we made a significant impact in the U.S. We are selling multi-year plans to employers and insurance companies” ¹⁶. (Note: While Segal is a DayTwo co-founder alongside Nacht, this quote speaks to the company’s progress under his investment.)

No independently sourced founder testimonials specifically about the experience of working with Marius Nacht as an investor were found. His role as both founder/investor in several portfolio companies (DayTwo, Aummune) makes it difficult to separate investor testimonials from co-founder relationships.

Connections

• Co-founder, Check Point Software Technologies (1993-2020) — alongside Gil Shwed (CEO) and Shlomo Kramer ¹²
• Co-founder, aMoon (2016-present) — alongside Dr. Yair Schindel (Managing Partner) ¹⁴
• Co-founder, Aummune — clinical-stage biotech ⁵
• Chairman, Regenera — largest shareholder ¹⁸
• Board member, Cynamics ⁹¹⁷
• Board member, Reflectiz ⁹
• Advisor, AposHealth ²
• Founder, 8400 The Health Network (2017) — nonprofit healthcare leadership network, alongside Yair Schindel ⁶⁷
• Co-investor with Shlomo Kramer (Check Point co-founder) in Fireblocks seed ¹²
• Co-investor with Cyberstarts (Gili Raanan) in Fireblocks and other cybersecurity deals ¹²²⁶
• Talpiot alumni network — IDF elite program graduate ¹³

Sources