Protego Ventures has closed its first fund with $125 million to invest in early-growth Israeli defense technology companies.
The firm focuses on companies that have already demonstrated their technologies in operational environments and are seeking capital, strategic relationships and international market access to scale.
Protego said its investment model combines venture capital with connections across the U.S. Department of Defense, NATO allies and major defense organizations including Elbit, IAI, Lockheed Martin and Army Futures Command.
The fund’s portfolio spans autonomous systems, agentic AI, critical infrastructure sensing, resilient navigation and other defense technologies.
Protego’s first portfolio company was XTEND, which develops autonomous robotic systems and an AI-driven operating system for controlling tactical drones and robots.
Protego led XTEND’s $70 million Series B. XTEND subsequently completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange at a $1.5 billion valuation under the ticker XTND.
Other portfolio companies include ASIO, which develops autonomy, situational awareness and resilient navigation technologies; Prisma Photonics, which uses existing fiber-optic cables as AI-powered sensors for critical infrastructure; and Rilian, which develops AI systems for mission-controlled environments.
Protego plans to follow Fund I with a second fund that will expand its investment strategy into the U.S. defense technology market.
The firm said Fund II will target early-growth American companies as defense procurement reform, R&D spending and geopolitical demand continue creating opportunities for new defense technologies.
KEY QUOTES:
“Protego was built on the conviction that many of the best defense companies in the world are being built right now, in Israel, under real operational demands, iterating according to real frontline conditions, for real customers. That feedback loop produces technologies that are faster, leaner, scalable and more flexible than almost anything developed through traditional procurement channels. The free world is defending itself, and smart capital is following.”
Lital Leshem, Co-Founder of Protego Ventures
“What we kept hearing from founders was that generalist investors didn’t understand their business, and defense-focused investors didn’t understand the Israeli security ecosystem. There was real capital flowing into defense globally, but it wasn’t reaching the companies that deserved it most — the ones that had already proven their technology under the toughest operational conditions, with genuine customers, in some of the most demanding arenas in the world. We built Protego to bridge that gap, and the close of Fund I combined with our portfolio companies tremendous achievements in just a short period of time demonstrates that this combination is exactly what the market needed.”
Lee Moser, Co-Founder of Protego Ventures
