Israeli tech is entering July with the same rhythm that defined the first half of the year, a fundraising round for an AI company serving 70,000 sales professionals and an acquisition of an Israeli cybersecurity startup by a European unicorn that plans to open a local R&D center.
The numbers behind these two events tell a larger story: Israeli startups raised approximately $8.6 billion in the first half of 2026, a 45% increase from the roughly $6 billion raised in H1 2025, according to a report by Poalim Tech and Dealigence.
Aligned Closes $60M Series B: AI That Sells Instead of Just Tracking
Aligned, founded by CEO Gal Aga, CPO Gal Deitsch and CTO Yotam Sela, announced today the completion of a $60 million Series B round led by PeakSpan Capital, with participation from existing investors Hetz Ventures, JAL Ventures and NFX. Total funding to date stands at $73.8 million.
Aligned's platform is not another CRM or analytics tool. It is a deal workspace that automates the entire sales workflow, from the first customer conversation through contract close. Today, 70,000 sellers and 1 million buyers use the platform every month. Customers include Deel, SimilarWeb, and WordPress.
The results: 30% faster sales cycles and 15% higher win rates. The company tripled its annual recurring revenue (ARR) over the past 12 months.
CEO Gal Aga: "For decades, the sales stack only recorded and analyzed deals, it helped managers track the work, but it never helped a buyer decide, or a rep execute. We built the opposite: a single workspace that enables the buyer and equips the rep to do what the top 1% do instinctively, make buying easy."
Aikido Acquires Root: $70-100M and a New Israeli R&D Center
In a second deal that surfaced in late June, Aikido, a Belgian cybersecurity unicorn, is acquiring Root, an Israeli AI security startup, for an estimated $70-100 million.
The acquisition strengthens Aikido's AI-driven application security capabilities, particularly around automated patching and backporting of open-source fixes. A core part of the deal is the commitment to establish an Israeli development center, a move that fits a broader trend of global tech companies entering Israel through acquisitions.
The Big Picture: A Recovery Quarter?
The Poalim Tech and Dealigence report paints a nuanced picture. On one hand, mega-rounds by Cyera ($600M), DriveNets ($410M), AppsFlyer ($1B from Meta, Google, Unity and Moloco), and Coralogix ($200M) drove the headline number. On the other hand, the number of funding rounds fell by roughly 35%, investors are concentrating capital in fewer, more mature companies.
The M&A market reflects a similar dynamic. Total transaction volume in H1 2026 reached approximately $10.7 billion, with deal count down 16% but average deal value rising. Strategic buyers, including Apple, Nvidia, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks and Motorola Solutions, are back in the Israeli market in force.
Nuvei's $2.75 billion acquisition of Payoneer and Motorola Solutions' $1.5 billion purchase of D-Fend demonstrate that major exits are not a 2025-only story.
On the positive side: Israeli VC fundraising is recovering, with approximately $900 million raised so far this year. The Israel Innovation Authority is expanding its Startup Fund grants starting July 15, with maximum grants rising to NIS 2 million for DeepTech Pre-Seed and NIS 6 million for Seed.
The Bottom Line
Israeli tech enters H2 2026 with strong headline momentum, but the market is more selective than ever. Large capital flows are going to mature companies and serial founders, while the declining round count signals that survival is easier than fundraising. Still, the steady stream of strategic acquirers and mega-rounds in hot sectors, AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure, confirms that the ecosystem continues to produce value at the highest level.
