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"Suddenly, investors realized that Israel is the place to build defense-tech technologies, especially, unfortunately, due to the war, which provided access to an active battlefield," says Hamutal Meridor, co-founder and president of the startup Kela Technologies. The company was revealed for the first time on Monday, announcing that it had raised $39 million across two funding rounds within eight months of its establishment.
In an interview, Meridor explained that the experience gained during the wars in Gaza and Lebanon led to the development of the company's central idea: "This stems from many lessons learned from witnessing things firsthand. The major trend we are capitalizing on, which can be seen in Ukraine, Israel, and globally, is the use of commercial, civilian products on the battlefield. We see our enemies using them, and we understand that we can use them too, ultimately transforming the nature of warfare."
Kela Technologies was founded in July 2024 by Hamutal Meridor, Alon Dror, Jason Mani, and Omer Bar-Ilan. Hamutal Meridor is the daughter of former Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy of Israel Dan Meridor and the late Liora Meridor. She is a graduate of Unit 8200 and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science and cognitive sciences. Previously, Meridor served as the head of the network intelligence department at the Israeli company Verint and as the head of Israeli operations for Palantir Technologies, whose stock has recently been a hit on NASDAQ.
Alon Dror, the company's CEO, is a graduate of the IDF's Talpiot program and served for about ten years in the defense establishment, including in the Armored Corps and the Ministry of Defense's R&D Directorate (MAFAT), where he won the Israel Defense Prize. Jason Mani is an aeronautical engineer and a graduate of the Air Force's development units and Unit 81 in intelligence. Omer Bar-Ilan is a Rafael veteran. The company employs 25 people in Tel Aviv.
The idea behind the company's establishment was to develop an open platform that allows militaries to integrate sensors, drones, and other tools—including those from the civilian market—into a system that enables control through artificial intelligence. "We integrate sensors, drones, applications, and AI models into one ecosystem. You can think of it like Android," says Meridor. "It is intended for militaries and governments, so it is also important for us to sell only to democracies and not to the highest bidder."
The AI sector has seen massive investments in the U.S. market over the past two years, and the military AI market has generated even greater enthusiasm. In this context, Kela has found its niche at an excellent time. The company, which has operated under the radar until now, caught the attention of the American venture capital giant Sequoia, which solely led the initial seed funding round of $11 million. Following this, additional investors joined, and the company raised another $28 million in a second funding round led by Lux Capital, with participation from angel investors and an especially intriguing fund—In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, marking its first-ever investment in Israel.
What excited the investors so much that they gave you $39 million in such a short time? "David Kahn (a general partner at Sequoia) said he wanted to invest in a defense company. He met with many companies, and when he met us, the stars aligned. Suddenly, it became clear to him. I think for Israelis, it seems very obvious that we all live through war and served in the military, and that the best people go to the best units, whether in combat or development.
But in the U.S., the best people go to Harvard. And suddenly, he realized that this is the place to build a defense company. Once Sequoia took such a significant and quick round, I think it generated enough excitement around us, which brought in many other investors who approached us." Sequoia has invested in several Israeli companies so far, but in the past year, it has increased its search for startups in the defense-tech field.
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Sean McGuire, one of the firm's partners, recently said in an interview that out of hundreds of Israeli startups in the field, only a few will succeed, but those that do will reach valuations of tens of billions of dollars. Did he mean you? "Listen, that's what we're aiming for. Will we succeed? That's up to us... We're aiming to be the biggest there is, and at worst, it will turn out smaller. But we're aiming for the biggest."
Palantir Technologies, one of the most profitable companies in the U.S., began collaborating with the IDF following the war, and its systems are already in operational use. Meridor, who managed Palantir's operations in Israel until last year, says that Kela's technology is different from Palantir's and does not compete with it: "We are building different technology, and it will take us a long time. I wish we could be in their position; it's an amazing company. I believe we will collaborate with them in the future, but we are still a small startup."
The company notes that it plans to expand the deployment of its platform to American security agencies and other Western militaries in the future, "thereby creating a broader ecosystem of developers in the field of national security."