Fort Ross Ventures: $235 Million Second Fund And Sharin Fisher Named Partner

By Annie Baker ● Mar 26, 2020
  • Venture capital firm Fort Ross Ventures announced it closed Fund II at $235 million and named Sharin Fisher as partner

Fort Ross Ventures — which is a venture capital firm focused on startups in the U.S., Israel, and Eastern Europe — announced it closed Fund II in an oversubscribed fundraising effort of $235 million.

Plus the firm announced that Sharin Fisher (former officer of Israel’s elite cyber-intelligence agency Unit 8200) joined the firm as a partner to help cybersecurity, SaaS, big data, AI, and fintech startups. Fisher will be based out of the Israel office based in Tel Aviv.

Fisher has 14 years of technology-focused experience from serving 9 years at Unit 8200’s Cyber-Intelligence Agency and leading the 8200 EISP, which is a top Israeli accelerator. Fisher will maintain a board position at 8200 EISP and at the 8200 alumni association.

The demand for Fund II was fueled by the firm’s recent exits like Dynamic Yield (acquired by McDonald’s for $327M), CoverWallet (acquired by Aon), and the IPOs of Uber and Tufin. Combined, Fort Ross’ two funds have a combined total of $345 million assets under management (AUM).

Fort Ross’ Fund II focuses on startups that specialize in cloud, fintech, cybersecurity, AI/ML, and marketplaces. And it recently participated in Roofstock’s Series D, Fetch Robotics Series C, and FireFly’s Series A2.

Key Quotes:

“In these volatile financial times, we’re pleased that our second fund has garnered so much attention. This allows us to continue to bridge the U.S. and Israeli startup ecosystems with Eastern European markets.”

-Victor Orlovski, Founder and Managing Partner at Fort Ross Ventures.

“In getting to know the team at Fort Ross, I was impressed by their deep breadth of expertise as well as their ability to expand their portfolio companies’ growth globally. I’m happy to join Fort Ross, which is not only unique in its geographical focus, but also by being operator-led with a team of industry pioneers from complementary backgrounds.”

-Sharin Fisher