Protego Ventures Closes $125 Million Fund to Accelerate Israeli Defense Companies
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TEL AVIV-YAFO, Israel, Sept. 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Protego Ventures, the first and largest dedicated defense fund in Israel, has closed its $125 million Fund I, marking a significant milestone in the Israeli defense ecosystem. This development comes as global security spending continues to hit record highs, with budgets growing by 50% over the past decade. The fund's launch coincides with the successful IPO of Protego's portfolio company, XTEND, which has now reached a valuation of $1.5 billion, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker XTND.
XTEND, an AI-driven company that enables intuitive control of tactical drones and robots, has been a cornerstone of Protego's strategy. Protego led XTEND's $70 million Series B round, providing the necessary capital and strategic support to accelerate the company's growth. XTEND's XOS operating system, which requires no prior flight experience, is operational within the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and allied forces across Singapore, Germany, Canada, and England.
Protego Ventures focuses on early-growth Israeli defense companies, identifying battlefield-proven innovations and positioning them for global commercial success. The fund's portfolio spans a wide range of modern defense technologies, including autonomous systems, agentic AI, critical infrastructure sensing, and contested-environment navigation. Each company in the portfolio has demonstrated rapid development and deployment, outpacing traditional defense industry timelines.
One of the key companies in Protego's portfolio is ASIO, which is pioneering autonomy, enhanced situational awareness, and resilient navigation for maneuvering forces in complex, contested environments. ASIO's technology solves coordination and communication challenges in joint multi-force operations through proprietary edge navigation and interoperability. The company has already secured a significant customer in U.S. defense technology company Anduril, which is establishing operations in Israel. ASIO executives have met with Anduril's founder and CEO, Palmer Luckey, during his visits to Israel, and are expected to supply components for Anduril's unmanned aerial vehicles.
Another portfolio company, Prisma Photonics, is turning existing fiber-optic cables into large-scale, AI-powered sensors for monitoring critical infrastructure, including power grids, pipelines, and secured perimeters. This technology allows for real-time detection and classification of threats without additional hardware, providing a cost-effective and scalable solution for security.
Rilian, the third company in Protego's portfolio, is building AI that thinks like a practitioner, deploying into mission-controlled environments and turning hard-won operational expertise into a permanent, compounding asset. This approach ensures that the AI systems developed are more intuitive and user-friendly, enhancing their effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
Protego's co-founders, Lital Leshem and Lee Moser, emphasize the unique value of their fund.
With Fund I's successful close, Protego is now turning its attention to Fund II, which will expand the firm's investment footprint into the United States. This move is part of Protego's strategy to target early-growth American defense companies and deepen its presence across the U.S. defense ecosystem, where accelerated procurement reform, record R&D budgets, and sustained geopolitical demand are creating ideal conditions for the fund's investments.