Defense tech VC hits record

Defense and venture capital rarely overlapped until recently. Defense tech V C dealmaking set a record in Q one twenty twenty-six, with new V C firms emerging worldwide to invest solely in defense startups.

Protego Ventures closes debut

Protego Ventures, a two-year-old Israeli firm led by Lital Leshem and Lee Moser, has completed the final close of its debut fund with one hundred twenty five million dollars in capital commitments.

Fund size and investment range

The fund size enables Protego to invest between five million and fifteen million dollars per company, focusing on startups addressing critical defense and security needs of Israel and the global community.

XTEND IPO shapes strategy

Protego stopped short of its one hundred fifty million dollar target because its first portfolio company, drone maker XTEND, went public on the N Y S E earlier this month and looks like a potential fund maker.

“Nobody wants to share the pie.”

Ares executives backed the founders

Executives from Ares Management suggested Leshem and Moser start Protego after the October seven, twenty twenty-three, Hamas attack on Israel, convinced new technologies would boost Israel's defense capabilities. Ares invested thirty million dollars as a limited partner.

Leshem's military experience

Leshem co-founded a startup acquired for six hundred twenty five million dollars in twenty twenty-five and brings eleven years of military and intelligence experience. She was deployed as a reservist on October seven while pregnant, witnessing how the battlefield had changed.

“Everything changed on October 7.”

Government competition emerges

Israeli authorities awarded V C firms Adir Capital and Sling Capital about thirty three million dollars in state guarantees to invest in military and dual-use technologies. Protego was too far along in fundraising to participate in the government tender.

Second fund planned for 2027

Protego is planning a second fund in the first quarter of twenty twenty-seven, backed by Israeli institutional investors and one large U S commitment Leshem has already secured, with broader scope including early-growth American defense tech companies.