Stratos Ventures, a defense tech and resilience-focused investment fund, has gone public after completing five early-stage investments and has raised over $50 million in its first months of fundraising. It will close the fund at $80 million.
Operating in Israel and the United States, the investment fund is positioning itself as one of the newest players in a rapidly expanding sector shaped by rising global security threats.
The fund, founded by Rotem Yehuda Kakon, Aviad Grinfeld, and Daniel Fouzailov, focuses on pre-seed and seed companies developing technologies for defense tech, homeland security (HLS), critical infrastructure protection, supply-chain resilience, and cybersecurity for governments. The partners bring decades of experience across defense, intelligence, and deep tech investment.
Partners at Stratos Ventures include four-star Lt.-Gen. (Ret.) Michael Barbero, a former CIA director; senior executives from Saab USA; and Theo Williams, former head of strategic investments at Salesforce. According to a press release by the fund, they will support the fund in strategy development, expansion of its international network, and accelerating its growth.
The fund’s anchor investor is a key player from the United Kingdom, and other investors include family offices from the United States, Europe, India, South America, Australia, and Israel.
Miami platform opens doors to US defense buyers
In Florida, Stratos partners with The LAB Miami to give Israeli companies access to organizations such as the Department of War (DOW), United States Central Command (CENTOM), the Port of Miami, and other end customers in the US defense market.
The platform provides founders with global access to governments, decision-makers, and strategic investors worldwide, serving as a strategic bridge between Israeli innovation and the US defense market, alongside the partners’ operational experience and deep industry expertise.
Speaking to Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post, Fouzailov said Stratos was built for early deep-stage companies and tackling challenges that traditional venture capital often avoids.
“Defense tech isn’t the flavor of the month for us; we’ve been doing it for years,” he said. “We came with a different approach. We don’t want to be another VC.”
“We’ve been very active in the last couple of months,” Fouzailov told D&T, adding that they have already invested in several companies, including Tenna Systems and G2.
Four of its portfolio companies have already secured follow-on rounds at significantly higher valuations led by major Silicon Valley firms.
According to the fund, even during its early stages of development, it helped portfolio companies generate projects, commercial agreements, pilots, and meaningful work programs.
Emerging defense market
Fouzailov said that governments worldwide are increasingly turning to Israeli technology for homeland security and crime prevention.
Earlier this year, Stratos and The LAB Miami led several large defense tech events held outside Israel as part of Israel Tech Week Miami, in collaboration with Jefferies, Blackstone, the Directorate of Defense Research & Development (MAFAT), the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), CENTCOM, and other organizations. More than 1,500 participants attended, including senior US and Israeli defense officials, investment funds, defense contractors, and defense tech entrepreneurs.
“Florida has become an emerging defense market,” Fouzailov told D&T. “There’s a lot of tech programs, [such as] Palantir’s headquarters is in Florida, and the DOW has a big footprint there.”
He emphasized that Israeli companies must incorporate in the United States to compete. The fund supports founders by building a Go-To-Market platform for the American market.
“The Israeli market isn’t big enough. The US is the real market,” he said. According to Fouzailov, the companies must register in America because “when you have a US company, you can get into a real program with DOW very early.”
He added that South America is expected to become a new strategic market for the fund.
The next wave: underground warfare, supply chains, and robotics
Fouzailov said the next generation of defense tech will be shaped by threats that have intensified over the past several years.
“Our enemies are now building underground, and we don’t have the tech to deal with that. The next wave will focus on underground detection, supply-chain distribution, and automation and robotics at sea and below ground,” he said.
“There’s a wave of interest that will only get bigger. Countries look at Israel as a test site for emerging technologies. Where there are problems, we will find solutions.”