Protection and enterprise capital used to not often overlap, however that’s not the case. Protection tech VC dealmaking set a record in Q1 2026, and new VC companies have emerged world wide to speculate solely in protection startups.
One in all these is two-year-old Protego Ventures, which presents itself as the primary and largest devoted protection tech VC in Israel. Led notably by two ladies, Lital Leshem and Lee Moser, it has simply accomplished the ultimate shut of its debut fund with $125 million in capital commitments, TechCrunch realized completely.
This fund dimension is enabling Protego to speculate between $5 million and $50 million per firm, with a give attention to startups “addressing the important protection and safety wants of Israel and the worldwide group,” in response to its web site.
These embody the likes of drone maker XTEND, its first portfolio firm, which went public on the NYSE earlier this month. That’s additionally why Protego stopped in need of its $150 million goal: a smaller fund magnifies the influence of a single large win on total returns, and with XTEND now wanting like a possible “fund maker” — a single funding able to returning the entire fund — elevating extra capital would solely dilute that upside amongst a bigger pool of traders. “No person desires to share the pie,” Leshem stated.
Ares Administration is one among Protego’s greatest backers. The funding agency instructed that Leshem and Moser be part of forces and begin Protego within the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel, with the conviction that new applied sciences could be key to boosting Israel’s protection capabilities within the face of latest threats, Leshem stated.
With a $30 million funding as a restricted associate, Ares gave Protego the help it wanted to begin investing instantly, Leshem stated. Moreover XTEND, its portfolio additionally consists of startups reminiscent of ASIO, which develops situational consciousness programs and has partnered with Anduril.
Leshem says the reception in protection circles has been sturdy. “On the army facet, there may be a whole lot of respect, and individuals are coming — even beneath the radar — to speak to us, to study from us, to coach with us, and for certain get our know-how and innovation.”
Nonetheless, the Israeli market is simpler to navigate for insiders, and Protego’s two founders are leaning into their networks. Moser, a seasoned enterprise capitalist, will stay a managing associate on the generalist VC agency AnD Ventures. As for Leshem, who co-founded a startup that was acquired for $625 million in 2025, she additionally brings 11 years of expertise within the army and intelligence discipline to their strategy.
“Every thing modified on October 7,” Leshem informed TechCrunch. She was deployed, whereas pregnant, as a reservist on the day of the assaults. “And mainly till the supply room, I used to be there, witnessing and getting the first-row seat to how the battlefield acted in a different way from what I knew up to now decade.”
Protego received’t have the sphere to itself for lengthy. Israeli authorities have taken discover of the identical shift, awarding VC companies Adir Capital and Sling Capital about $33 million in state ensures to spend money on army and dual-use applied sciences, with other funds additionally elevating capital for related bets. (Leshem stated Protego was too far alongside in its personal fundraising to participate within the authorities’s tender.)
Protego, in the meantime, is already planning its subsequent transfer: a second fund within the first quarter of 2027, backed by Israeli institutional traders and one massive U.S. dedication Leshem has already secured, with a broader scope that features early-growth American defense-tech firms.
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