Maniv Mobility

Michael Granoff, the founder and Managing Partner, leads investment decisions out of the Tel Aviv headquarters. He works alongside General Partners Olaf Sakkers and Nate Jaret. Granoff's background bridges policy, technology, and early-stage investing, and he is the central figure in final capital allocation.

Maniv counts BMW i Ventures, Hyundai, and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi among its limited partners. This syndicate-of-strategics structure gives portfolio companies early commercial-testing opportunities with major automakers. Crucially, no single automotive LP has veto power over investment decisions — Maniv maintains independence to serve the startup's interests over any one corporate parent.

Maniv is an independent venture capital firm, not a captive fund of any automaker. While strategic LPs sit in the fund, the partnership controls investment decisions. This hybrid model is designed to solve a structural problem for mobility startups: the need for deep automotive customer access without the signaling risk that comes with being tagged as a single OEM's portfolio company.

Maniv runs a dual-office strategy with teams in Tel Aviv and New York. Israel is the anchor sourcing geography, reflecting the country's concentration of sensor, computer-vision, and cybersecurity talent applicable to mobility. The firm also invests actively in Europe and North America, using the New York office as the bridge between Israeli technology startups and global commercial markets.

The firm concentrates on Seed and Series A rounds, where the technical architecture of a mobility company is being set. Maniv will follow on through later-stage rounds for portfolio companies that demonstrate strong product-market fit with its strategic LP base. The check sizes and reserves are structured to maintain meaningful ownership through the growth phase.

Michael Granoff previously co-founded an early-stage firm and has policy-adjacent roles in alternative energy and transportation. Maniv Mobility is his sole investment platform dedicated exclusively to mobility venture. No overlapping vehicles share the Maniv brand or deployment mandate. The firm's 2023 expansion into logistics and industrial automation lives under the same management company.

Maniv frequently syndicates rounds with financial VCs and the venture arms of non-LP automakers. The firm's strategic LP base does not require exclusivity, and Maniv views co-investors as distribution partners for portfolio companies. This open-door syndication approach has historically meant that Tier-1 financial funds like Bessemer and Sequoia Capital appear alongside Maniv on cap tables (public record).