Yaron Elad and Elik Etzion Launch AlphaDrive, a $100 Million Fund Focusing on Cyber and AI Investments

WHY THIS MATTERS

The launch of AlphaDrive by Yaron Elad, Elik Etzion, and Gurinder Sidhu represents a specialized shift in how venture capital addresses the “Cyber-AI” convergence. Historically, cybersecurity and AI have been treated as separate vertical interests, but AlphaDrive treats them as an inseparable, singular frontier. This matters because the current AI revolution is effectively weaponizing cyberattacks through automated social engineering and self-evolving malware, while simultaneously providing defenders with autonomous agents capable of real-time remediation. By securing $100 million in backing from heavyweights like Leumi Partners and the Kahn family office, AlphaDrive is positioning itself to fund the next generation of “defensive AI” that must absorb the logic of existing security products to survive.

The fund’s unique model—blending venture capital agility with private equity roll-up strategies—is designed for a market where traditional development cycles are collapsing. In 2026, AI-native startups can achieve significant revenue and product-market fit in a fraction of the time it took legacy firms. AlphaDrive’s “Foundry” approach, where they co-build companies with serial entrepreneurs, ensures that capital is deployed with deep technical and operational context from day one. For the Israeli tech ecosystem, this provides a vital bridge to global markets, leveraging Sidhu’s extensive US investment banking experience to prepare these startups for large-scale M&A or public listings in a volatile valuation environment.

After leading dozens of investments, primarily in the cybersecurity space that have so far generated 22 exits with a combined value of approximately $2.5 billion, Yaron Elad and Elik Etzion are embarking on a new path. Together with their US-based partner Gurinder Sidhu, they are launching AlphaDrive, a $100 million fund focusing on cybersecurity and AI, operating under a unique investment model.

Leumi Partners, the investments arm of Bank Leumi, has joined the fund as an anchor investor, alongside additional investors including “Aurum” the Kahn family office, cybersecurity entrepreneurs from Israel and the U.S., venture capital fund managers, and other investors from the U.S. and Europe. 

Yaron Elad, a seasoned venture capital investor and former CEO of Elron Ventures, and Elik Etzion, a cybersecurity and AI expert and former deputy head of the cyber division of Unit 8200 and former CISO of Bank Hapoalim, stepped down about a year ago from the management of Elron Ventures after leading it to top-decile performance. 

Gurinder Sidhu is a seasoned investment banker who until recently led the cybersecurity and infrastructure software sector at UBS, the world’s largest wealth management bank. In his role, Sidhu led M&A and financing transactions for leading cybersecurity companies including CrowdStrike, CyberArk, SentinelOne, Barracuda, Sophos and Varonis.

AlphaDrive plans to invest in companies across various stages, from seed to later stages, alongside larger-scale co-investments with Leumi Partners. The fund is expected to invest in companies founded by Israeli entrepreneurs. To date, it has invested in five startups, including companies founded by serial entrepreneurs operating at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, alongside leading funds such as Greylock, Accel, CRV, Notable, Viola Ventures, and others. 

AlphaDrive focuses on the intersection of the AI revolution and the cybersecurity world, a convergence that is driving profound change in the industry. At a time when AI giants are developing and releasing dedicated models used by both attackers and defenders, the industry is being fundamentally reshaped as these models absorb the logic of existing cybersecurity products. This trend is already reflected in the pricing volatility of publicly traded cybersecurity companies. 

Alongside these challenges, significant opportunities are emerging for startups to challenge established cybersecurity companies through AI-native products that integrate multiple models, automate workflows via AI agents that replace human labor, and introduce new business models.

The AI revolution is also reshaping the venture capital industry itself, the boundaries between product and service companies are blurring, distinctions between early and late stage companies are fading, development cycles are shortening, and AI-native companies can achieve meaningful revenues in a short time. Even internal fund operations are adapting to the AI era. 

Against this backdrop, AlphaDrive has developed a unique investment model that combines several complementary and dynamic strategies. Integrating venture capital and private equity methodologies for AI-driven roll-up strategies (technology-enabled serial M&A), investing across the full company lifecycle, and building companies with serial entrepreneurs under a Foundry model. This model is supported by a global, multidisciplinary team with extensive shared experience. 

The fund’s team also includes Sharon Wagner, a serial entrepreneur who has sold several companies to technology giants including Microsoft; Dr. Uri Geiger, a venture capital and private equity investor; Kobi Katz, CTO of Maccabi Healthcare Services; and Susanne Senoff, who serves as CISO at Thoma Bravo Group company.. In addition, senior technology and cybersecurity executives from international companies. Including TikTok, Warner, Chime, and Medtronic, are part of the extended team.

Yaron Elad, Managing Partner at AlphaDrive, said: “We built AlphaDrive after decades of working closely with entrepreneurs across the entire lifecycle of companies, from the earliest stages, through growth, to exit. Building a company has always been a roller coaster, but in the AI era it has become faster, sharper, and far more unpredictable.

We see our role as partners in this journey, with a deep understanding of what it takes to build companies that succeed over time. AlphaDrive was established to operate precisely at these inflection points, with expertise in cybersecurity and AI, and with the ability to work with companies at different stages helping them grow effectively in the new world being built before our eyes.” 

Elik Etzion added: “We are in the midst of a powerful convergence between two of the world’s fastest-growing industries, AI and cybersecurity, and this convergence is reshaping the rules of the game. At Alpha Drive, we have built a dedicated Cyber-AI task force, a unique team with proven experience navigating previous waves of transformation and disruption in the industry. Our goal is to enable entrepreneurs to seize the current window of opportunity and provide them with a broad value platform that will allow them to build companies shaping the future of the industry.”

FF NEWS TAKE

AlphaDrive is effectively a “task force” masquerading as a venture fund. The leadership team brings a rare trifecta of experience: Elad’s track record of 22 successful exits, Etzion’s deep intelligence and CISO expertise, and Sidhu’s history of leading multi-billion dollar banking deals for industry giants like CrowdStrike. This combination allows the fund to operate with “flexible conviction,” often taking smaller, single-digit million-dollar stakes that the now-bloated “mega-funds” in Israel have abandoned. In an era where the boundary between a software product and an automated service is blurring, AlphaDrive’s ability to provide 360-degree support from initial code to CISO-level go-to-market strategy creates a significant defensible moat.

However, the real test for AlphaDrive will be the high-speed “unpredictability” of the AI era. While they have already backed five startups alongside Tier 1 firms like Greylock and Accel, the “roll-up” strategy (technology-enabled serial M&A) is notoriously difficult to execute in the early-stage tech world. Success will depend on whether their multidisciplinary team, which includes experts from TikTok to Thoma Bravo, can actually synthesize these fragmented AI tools into a cohesive platform that legacy enterprises can trust. If they can prove that AI agents can truly replace human labor in the security operations center (SOC), AlphaDrive will not just be another fund; it will be the architect of a fundamentally new cybersecurity business model.