The Israeli cybersecurity firm Team8, founded by Col. (res.) Nadav Zafrir – a former commander of the IDF's elite intelligence Unit 8200 – announced on Monday at the Nasdaq headquarters in New York that it is establishing an investment fund in partnership with 14 of the world's biggest corporations.
Team8 made an estimated $250 millions from the sale of the first company it acquired, Israeli cybersecurity firm Sygnia, to the Singaporean investment corporation Tamasek. This was the first such deal for Team8, which invested only $4.5 million in Sygnia after purchasing it.
Now, Team8 has announced a strategic partnership with a group of corporations that includes Microsoft, Walmart, Airbus, Moody's, Japanese telecom giant NTT, Barclays Bank, Scotiabank, Sysco, and Dimension Data, which is owned by Tamasek.
Each one of the partners has committed $5 million to $10 million to the fund, which is designed to found companies that offer solutions to self-defined problems but can serve the market as a whole.
Zafrir founded Team8 with two other former 8200 commanders, Col. (res.) Israel Grimberg and Liran Grinberg. The founders brought entrepreneur Yuval Shachar on board and he serves as a managing partner and executive chairman.
After unveiling its new investment fund, Team8 held its 4th annual cyber conference. Shachar told Israel Hayom that the company had been forced to stop registration and leave more than 40 managers outside because it had run out of room.
