Stardom VC raises $65 million to back Israeli startups

In an announcement released on Sunday, it was revealed that Stardom Ventures closed a US$65 million fund that is targeted at providing the needed backing to Israeli media-oriented tech startups.

Launched in 2016, Stardom started as a corporate VC in the Keshet group, one of Israel’s leading media firms which is now poised for expansion into the U.S. market. However, the VC branched out to become a fully independent fund in 2020.

The fund has had a total of nine startups as part of its portfolio, three of which have now had exits.

The six firms left on its portfolio have been transferred from Keshet to Stardom. The fund has also recently finalized three more investments, with two-term sheets already signed. The entire activity involved in this has cost Stardom approximately US$10 million.

“The plan was to have 16 companies, which means four new investments each year for the next four years. We’re running faster than we’ve planned,” an exec of the firm said in a statement to Reuters.