Swish Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Swish Ventures is a concentrated, high-conviction early-stage venture firm founded in early 2025 by Omri Casspi, the first Israeli player in NBA history (2009-2019, including a championship with the Golden State Warriors). The firm backs a small number of exceptional founders each year rather than spreading capital across a broad portfolio, explicitly favoring "few investments a year, real concentration and partnership" over a spray-and-pray seed model. The thesis centers on cybersecurity, cloud and AI infrastructure, physical AI, defense technology, and government technology, positioning Swish squarely inside the 2026 AI-infrastructure and dual-use defense financing wave alongside well-capitalized incumbents like Sequoia.
Sector Focus
Swish concentrates on:
- Cybersecurity (cloud security, data resilience)
- Cloud and AI infrastructure
- Physical AI and robotics
- Defense technology and dual-use systems
- Government technology
Portfolio names like Cognition AI (AI coding agents), EON (cloud data resilience/cybersecurity), and Upwind (cloud security) anchor the firm's credibility in AI infrastructure and cyber.
Stage Focus
Seed and Series A, with opportunistic follow-on capital deployed through a dedicated Opportunity Fund ($100M, closed December 2025) for existing portfolio companies as they scale.
Check Size
Average check size is roughly $20M, with reported rounds in the $10M-$30M range for seed and Series A companies. This is a large check relative to typical seed funds, reflecting the firm's concentrated, high-conviction strategy.
Lead Tendency
Publicly reported data is mixed on whether Swish typically leads. Given check sizes near $20M and the firm's stated preference for deep partnership, it likely leads or co-leads a meaningful share of its rounds, but this is not confirmed by Swish directly.
Recent Activity
Swish has scaled unusually fast:
- December 2024: Closed debut Fund I at ~$60M, backing cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI startups
- December 2025: Closed a $100M Opportunity Fund to double down on existing winners including EON, Upwind, and Tenzai
- September 2026: Closed Swish III, a $250M fund, bringing total AUM to a reported $800M (a portfolio-markup figure, not cumulative dollars raised — actual LP commitments across all three vehicles total roughly $410M)
Fund III targets roughly a dozen new companies in cybersecurity, cloud/AI infrastructure, physical AI, defense, and government technology.
Portfolio Highlights
Across roughly 20 investments since inception, eight portfolio companies are reported to have reached unicorn status, with combined portfolio valuation cited above $60B. Notable names include:
- Cognition AI — AI coding-agent company
- EON — cloud data resilience/cybersecurity, reported ~$4B valuation
- Upwind — cloud security, reported to have drawn acquisition interest near $1B
- Applied Compute
- Wonderful (Wonderful.ai)
- Glow
- PointFive
- Rox
- Bliss
- Oakie
- Turnout
- Irregular
- Tenzai
- Long Lake
No completed exits have been publicly confirmed as of the Fund III close, though several names (notably Upwind) have reportedly drawn acquisition interest.
Team
- Omri Casspi, Founder & Managing Partner: First Israeli to play in the NBA (drafted 2009, played through 2019 including a title with the Golden State Warriors); Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2016. Sole managing partner; public reporting names no additional General Partners.
- Ori Striechman, Head of Technology and Investments: Alumnus of Israel's Unit 8200 signals-intelligence corps; previously VP Research at Cyberillium (since acquired); Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2025 at age 27. Leads technical sourcing and diligence.
- Dana Alexandrovich, Operating Partner: Former COO of Microsoft Israel, supports portfolio operations.
The disclosed investment decision-making bench is notably small (two people) relative to the firm's $800M reported AUM.
Decision Process
Solo-GP-led: Casspi is the sole managing partner and final decision-maker, with Striechman driving technical sourcing and diligence from an intelligence/cybersecurity background.
Founder Preferences
Swish looks for technical, category-defining founders in cybersecurity, cloud/AI infrastructure, physical AI, and defense/govtech who want a small number of deeply engaged investors rather than a large syndicate. Given the check size and concentration, expect deep diligence and a genuine long-term partnership expectation.
Geographic Focus
Israel and the United States, consistent with Casspi's network and Striechman's Unit 8200 sourcing pipeline into Israeli cyber/defense talent, alongside a growing US LP base (reportedly including Sequoia Capital, US pension funds, and university endowments).
Key LPs
Reported (not Swish-confirmed) to include Sequoia Capital, US pension funds, American university endowments, and family offices from Israel and the US.