Record Number of US-Based Israeli ‘Unicorns’ a Mixed Bag

(JNS) The United States is home to a record 88 Israeli-founded unicorns—privately held companies that have at one point been valued at $1 billion or above. That’s according to the United States-Israel Business Alliance (USIBA), which notes a 10% jump, from 80, in Israeli unicorn companies stateside since last May.

To qualify for the list, a unicorn must have at least one Israeli founder, and its global or regional headquarters must be in the United States. 

A record 11 states now serve as headquarters for Israeli unicorns, including a growing number outside the traditional hubs of New York and Silicon Valley.

“The rising number of Israeli-founded unicorns in the United States is a testament to the strategic value that this market continues to offer Israeli entrepreneurs,” Aaron Kaplowitz, president of the USIBA, stated. “In recent years, there’s been a better product-market fit between Israeli technological solutions and American enterprise challenges.”

This data reflects both promising and concerning trends. The number of U.S.-based Israeli unicorns is increasing, but some are seeing their evaluations drop or are even having to file for bankruptcy.

Cybereason, a Boston-based, Israeli-founded cyber detection and response company, recently took in a $100 million investment from SoftBank, based on an estimated $400 million valuation. The company remains on the unicorn list based on its $2.8 billion valuation in 2021. 

And in July, New Jersey-based cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, co-founded by an Israeli, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“This is a complicated year, particularly. The market is insane,” Kaplowitz told JNS. “We had to reassess our understanding of valuations a little bit better.”

Israeli-founded unicorns have not been immune to the decreased valuations across the global tech economy. USIBA research indicates only about 55% of U.S.-based Israeli-founded unicorns could raise funding at a $1 billion or greater valuation at this moment.

“I don’t see the investments as dwindling. I just see them as getting more personal, smarter and even safer,” Jonathan Weiss, director of strategic Innovation for Florida-based medical device unicorn Insightec, told JNS.