ALMA Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
ALMA Ventures describes itself as Israel's first venture fund dedicated to mental health and brain health technology, with longevity as an adjacent theme. The thesis is that mental health, brain health and aging are merging into one category, and that the same companies increasingly serve all three. The firm backs Israeli-linked, science-first companies that scale globally, and says it "doesn't just back companies, it builds them": clinical pilots, regulation, reimbursement and US go-to-market support alongside capital. It also commits to agreeing clinical outcomes at investment and reporting them each year alongside financials.
The pitch leans on Israel as a "living laboratory" for trauma, recovery and resilience. After October 7, 2023, the need rose sharply, and the firm cites 178 active Israeli companies in the field, most of them early stage, and strong clinical trial density per capita. ALMA also frames a "TraumaTech" field covering PTSD, chronic stress and recovery technologies, with bridges between Israeli innovators and health systems abroad.
Sector Focus
The site lists five investment areas:
- Diagnostics and prevention: digital biomarkers, cognitive screening, continuous monitoring
- Care infrastructure and triage: intake, triage and outcomes platforms that extend clinical capacity
- Digital and hybrid therapeutics: software and clinician-plus-digital care built for reimbursement
- Neuromodulation: stimulation, closed-loop systems, brain-computer interfaces
- Deep intervention and assisted care: delivery and monitoring platforms for treatment-resistant care, including psychedelic-assisted therapy
Conditions named: anxiety and depression, trauma and chronic stress, addiction, burnout, loneliness, women's health, aging and cognition, youth and adolescents. Press adds suicide prevention and dementia.
Stage Focus and Check Size
The firm is described as early stage. A third-party event post says it typically invests $250,000 to $500,000 per company. This was seen only in a search snippet, so confidence is moderate. The firm's own site does not state stage or check size.
Fund Status
Globes and Calcalist reported on 19 October 2026 that the founders completed a first close of ALMA Ventures, with a $40M target. Capital was raised mainly from Jewish investors in the United States and the vehicle is privately funded, not philanthropic. Sheba Medical Center is the strategic partner, participating through its ARC digital innovation center. ALMA Foundation is a separate, independently governed and funded body that supports research, pilots, data and evidence for the field.
Portfolio
No portfolio page, announced investments or portfolio list was found on the firm's site, in the Globes and Calcalist coverage, or in search results. The fund is newly launched, so no companies are listed. The homepage names Sheba, ARC and one other organization as partners, which are collaborators, not portfolio companies.
Team
- Adi Ostry Matalon, Co-Founder and Managing Partner: investment strategist with 18+ years in finance, strategy and innovation. Former senior roles at Bank Leumi and Mizrahi Tefahot, partner at J-Impact, and founding member of the Resilience-Tech innovation center in Sderot.
- Esther Barak Landes, Co-Founder and Managing Partner: 25+ years in VC and venture building. Exits include Playtika, Payoneer, Prolor, Orthospace, BioProtect and Storewize. CEO of the IMA fund, founded the Nielsen Innovate fund, and founded Flora Ventures (AgTech and FoodTech, reported $50M) in 2023.
- Prof. Amitai Ziv, Co-Founder and Investment Committee: director of the Integrated Rehabilitation Hospital at Sheba, founder and chairman of MSR, the Israel Center for Medical Simulation.
- Michal Arad, PhD, Venture Partner: behavioral neuroscience PhD, former VP at AWZ Ventures.
- Sarah Baradaran Becker, Principal and Head of US: product leader in language and vision AI.
- Advisors include Talma Hendler (Sagol Brain Institute), Milton Wainberg (Columbia), Orna Berry (Google), Alona Barnea (MAFAT), Eran Halperin (NYU) and Yonit Serkin.
Lead Tendency and Decision Process
Not stated. With $250K-$500K checks, the fund likely co-invests or leads small rounds, but this is unverified. The investment committee includes the managing partners and Prof. Ziv, so decisions look partnership-based. Whether warm intros are required is unknown.
Founder Preferences
Israeli-linked, science-first founders with a path to clinical validation, ideally using Sheba and the ALMA network for pilots. Evidence-based products with a route to payers and reimbursement are favored.
Geographic Focus
Offices in Tel Aviv, New York and Los Angeles. Investments target Israeli-linked companies that go to market globally, with a US go-to-market emphasis.
Gaps
No disclosed investments, no stated stage or check size on the firm's own site, and no LinkedIn profiles verified for the team.