Venture capitalists collaborate to launch Iron Nation, an emergency impact fund for Israeli startups affected by war

Iron Nation, a volunteer emergency impact fund ensuring the continuity of early-stage Israeli startups, has launched. The fund collects no management fee or carried interest and is aiming to raise $20m to support post-seed VC-backed startups impacted by the recent attack by Hamas and the ensuing war. This initiative is backed by a team of exceptional volunteers from the venture community including Chemi Peres of Pitango Ventures, Charlie Federman of SilverTech Ventures, Danny Cohen of Viola Ventures, Moshe Lichtman of IGP Capital, Aaron Applbaum of MizMaa, and Calanit Valfer of the Elah Fund who joined the investment committee pro-bono.

The recent Israel-Hamas war and the subsequent callup of 15-20% of the tech workforce to reserves caused early-stage start-ups in Israel to face unprecedented challenges. Iron Nation's mission is to ensure that highly promising Israeli tech startups with established venture backing, a critical part of the tech ecosystem, can continue to grow during and after this crisis.

Renowned New York-based venture capitalist Charlie Federman of Silvertech Ventures was among the first to join the Iron Nation investment committee. Supported by the Silverstein family, who rebuilt the World Trade Center that now is home to dozens of Israeli related tech companies through their accelerator and fund, Federman felt a particular calling to support Israeli startups in their time of need.

"In the wake of the 9/11 terror attack, we saw New York at its finest. Thousands stopped what they were doing and simply showed up to volunteer. Israel has just suffered its 9/11 and I am proud to join the ranks of those working to ensure that the Israeli tech industry bounces back to the booming center it was before October 7^th," Federman said.

Eligible startups can apply here. Applications will be processed and vetted within two weeks by the investment committee. Iron Nation will actively amplify its investment with a dedicated investment-matching program of the Israel Innovation Authority, as well as the startups' existing investors.

Chemi Peres, Managing Partner, Pitango Ventures and Chairman, Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation: "Young startups that were primed for an exciting journey are facing unprecedented challenges.  Young men and women have been forced to set aside their dreams as an act of duty to their country. The investor community refuses to allow them to be another casualty of this war. Their widespread support speaks not only to the resilience of the tech ecosystem but to the belief that we can save a critical segment of the Israeli tech economy while creating a sustainable double-bottom line for investors." 

Gil Friedlander, Co-founder, Iron Nation: "We chose to focus our efforts to support this particular segment of the startup ecosystem because of the enormous potential they have shown, and we are committed to ensuring that they have the resources to reach that potential. We collect no management fees and no carried interest and our volunteer-based approach allows us to maximize the support we provide. We are overwhelmed thus far by the spirit of collaboration and the commitment to drive the Israeli tech ecosystem forward not only in Israel but also abroad. The tech economy is critical to our nation and we encourage more to join us through investment, donation, or contribution."

www.ironnation.org