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Israel Seed Partners
Chemi Peres co-founded Israel Seed Partners in 1995, deploying $262M into early Israeli tech companies before deliberately ceasing new funds.
Israel Seed Partners
Chemi Peres and Michael Eisenberg launched Israel Seed Partners in 1995, positioning it as one of the earliest Israeli venture capital firms with an institutional structure. The firm's roots connect to the Peres family, giving it a launch platform that few other Israeli funds of that era possessed. From offices in Jerusalem, the firm focused on early-stage technology companies emerging from Israel's engineering and military-intelligence talent pools. The firm's strategy concentrated on seed and early-stage Israeli enterprise software, cybersecurity, and internet infrastructure companies. Capital was deployed directly into portfolio companies, typically as lead or co-lead investor in Series A rounds. Confirmed investments include e-commerce pioneer Shopping.com, cybersecurity firm Aladdin Knowledge Systems, and web-analytics company ClickFox. Shopping.com, originally DealTime, went public on NASDAQ in 2004 before being acquired by eBay for $620 million in 2005. Aladdin was acquired by Vector Capital in 2009. The firm concentrated its geographic footprint on Israel, with portfolio companies typically maintaining R&D in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and go-to-market operations in the United States. Israel Seed Partners raised four funds, deploying approximately $262M into Israeli technology companies between 1995 and the early 2000s. The firm deliberately chose not to raise a fifth fund after the dot-com downturn, distinguishing it from peers who continued fundraising into weaker vintages. Co-founder Michael Eisenberg went on to join Benchmark Capital as a General Partner in 2005, subsequently founding Aleph VC in 2013. Co-founder Chemi Peres co-founded Pitango Venture Capital in 1993 before Israel Seed, and later returned to Pitango as Managing General Partner. Unlike many venture firms that perpetuate themselves through successive funds, Israel Seed Partners operated for roughly a decade and then intentionally stopped raising new capital — a finite-life design rare in the venture industry. The firm managed out of a single Jerusalem office, never building the global multi-office platform structure that became common among Israeli VCs. Its alumni, particularly Eisenberg and the network of portfolio-company founders, went on to seed Israel's next generation of venture firms and technology companies.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1995
AUM
Below $300M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Middle East
Country
Israel
City
Jerusalem
Corporate office
Jerusalem, Israel
Principals
Michael A. Eisenberg
General Partner
Nechemia (Chemi) J. Peres
Managing General Partner & Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Israel Seed Partners?
The firm is not actively making new investments. During its active period, investment decisions were led by co-founders Chemi Peres and Michael Eisenberg, who served as General Partners. The partnership operated with a concentrated decision-making structure typical of early-stage venture firms of that era.
Is Israel Seed Partners still actively investing?
No. Israel Seed Partners ceased raising new funds after its fourth fund, raised in the early 2000s. The firm deliberately chose not to raise a fifth fund, focusing instead on managing its existing portfolio through to exit. This was not a distressed closure but a strategic decision by the partnership.
Which companies did Israel Seed Partners back?
The firm's most notable realized investments include Shopping.com, which went public on NASDAQ in 2004 and was acquired by eBay for $620 million in 2005, and Aladdin Knowledge Systems, which was acquired by Vector Capital in 2009. Other known portfolio companies include ClickFox and several early-stage Israeli enterprise-software companies.
How is Israel Seed Partners related to Pitango Venture Capital?
Co-founder Chemi Peres was a co-founder of Pitango (originally Polaris Venture Capital) before launching Israel Seed, and subsequently returned to Pitango as a Managing General Partner after Israel Seed concluded new investments. The two firms are historically linked through Peres but were separate legal and investment entities.
What happened to Israel Seed Partners after it stopped raising funds?
The firm managed its existing portfolio to completion, returning capital to limited partners as exits occurred. Co-founder Michael Eisenberg joined Benchmark Capital in 2005 and later founded Aleph VC in 2013. The Israel Seed brand and entity did not continue as an active investment platform beyond its original fund lifecycles.
What investment stages did Israel Seed Partners target?
Israel Seed Partners focused on seed and early-stage venture investments, typically leading or co-leading Series A rounds in Israeli technology companies. The firm concentrated on first institutional capital into companies spun out of Israel's military-intelligence units and university research environments.
Where does the underlying capital for Israel Seed Partners come from?
Israel Seed Partners operated as a traditional venture capital fund, raising capital from institutional limited partners rather than functioning as a family office. While the Peres family network provided early backing and institutional credibility, the firm's four funds represented third-party institutional capital from US, European, and Israeli investors.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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