Glilot Capital Looks Beyond the AI Hype

When Glilot Capital launched 15 years ago as the world’s first cyber venture capital fund, few in the broader tech ecosystem understood what was coming.

“At the beginning, the cyber domain was somewhat underestimated,” says Amit Spitzer, CTO and CISO at Glilot Capital. “People didn’t really understand why cyber would become the next big thing or why these developments would happen. But as companies advanced and time went on, we saw that these were actually world-changing companies.”

The firm’s founders had a perspective that few investors possessed at the time. Coming from elite Israeli intelligence and technology units such as Unit 8200, they understood that cybersecurity was not simply another software category. It was becoming a fundamental layer of the digital economy—critical to the ability of organizations to operate, protect themselves, and continue growing.

“Cyber companies deliver value from day one until the end of their life,” Spitzer explains. “Their impact is incredibly significant and massive. It is simply a market you cannot afford to miss.”

Fast forward to 2026, and Glilot Capital has become a top VC in its field. Founded in 2011, the firm manages significant assets across multiple funds and is consistently ranked among the best-performing venture capital firms globally for deep tech and cybersecurity investments. In September 2025, the firm further solidified this position by raising $500 million, reinforcing its ability to identify and support emerging technology leaders.

The fundraising came during one of the most challenging periods for Israeli technology, amid geopolitical uncertainty, war, and a difficult global investment environment. Yet according to Spitzer, innovation did not stop.

“At the end of the day, there have also been exits during the war and during this period, and there are developments happening across every industry and every workflow,” he says. “Things keep moving and working. There isn’t stagnation just because something dramatic is happening.”

The AI Shift: Finding Real Innovation 

Having identified cybersecurity as a foundational technology before it became mainstream, Glilot turned its attention to the next major technological inflection point: artificial intelligence.

Several years ago, the firm expanded its investment focus from cybersecurity alone to include AI, recognizing that artificial intelligence would fundamentally reshape how organizations operate.

“AI is no longer just the promise of ChatGPT, writing something to get help drafting an email, for instance,” Spitzer says. “Today, AI is mandatory in many organizations. It changes organizational processes, alters the face of companies, reshapes how businesses operate, what they sell to customers, and how they generate revenue.”

But as nearly every startup now claims to be “AI-powered,” investors face a new challenge: separating genuine innovation from companies simply adding AI terminology to their pitch.

For Glilot, the answer begins with focusing on the problem rather than the technology label.

“We look at what problem area you are tackling, what is the path to the solution, and what is the actual solution,” says Spitzer. “It is not enough to just tell a cool AI story. We want to see the flow from ideation to execution and how this product is actually sold.”

The companies that stand out, he says, are those where AI is not simply a feature, but a meaningful part of a solution that creates measurable value for customers.

“You can build amazing things that ultimately have no customers and no market,” he says. “The fact that it contains AI doesn’t really help anyone. You need to build a company whose solution delivers tangible impact.”

Success Is Never By Coincidence

That same approach shapes how Glilot works with its portfolio companies. After two dozen successful exits, Spitzer says there is no single formula for building a successful startup.

“Success is never a story of coincidence,” he says. “It is about planning ahead, having the right skills and expertise, being in the right ecosystem, and knowing how to connect the dots.”

For Glilot, the role of a venture investor goes beyond providing capital. Each company requires a different approach, and the challenge is understanding what will help each founder and team achieve its goals.

“One of our goals as VCs is to understand our companies and know what will help each one based on its specific use case, vertical, and market,” Spitzer says.

Looking ahead, he believes the pace of change driven by AI will only accelerate.

“In the last few years, we have seen extremely fast growth in every aspect because of AI,” he says. “I can see it becoming even more interesting and significant in the years ahead.”

That philosophy extends beyond Glilot’s investment strategy and into the way the firm operates. The team has developed Eliot, an AI system designed by Spitzer himself, which they affectionately refer to as “Amit’s baby.”

For Glilot, Eliot represents a broader approach to technology: not simply observing major shifts from the outside, but actively exploring how they can be adopted in practice.

“We make sure that we don’t only invest in companies that do AI—we also do AI ourselves,” Spitzer says. “We are leveraging AI in order to be better in everything that we are doing.”

And while global venture capital remains intensely competitive, especially with major U.S. funds competing for the same opportunities, Spitzer believes Israel’s advantage lies in its ability to adapt quickly.

“Israel has some of the greatest talent in the world, and we can see it over and over again,” he says. “The ability to adapt to changes, react fast, and never sit on the bench waiting for something to happen—that makes us a great nation that makes a lot of innovation and succeeds in these areas.”

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