USA – Fort Ross Ventures, a Menlo Park, CA-based venture-capital firm focused on startups in the U.S., Israel, and Europe, closed a $235m second fund.
Fort Ross’ Fund II focuses on startups specializing in cloud, fintech, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and marketplaces. It recently participated in Roofstock’s Series D, Fetch Robotics Series C and FireFly’s Series A2. Demand for the fund was accelerated by recent exits, including Dynamic Yield (acquired by McDonald’s for $327M), CoverWallet (acquired by Aon), and the IPOs of Uber (NYSE: UBER) and Tufin (NYSE: TUFN). The firm also announced that Ms. Sharin Fisher, former officer of Israel’s elite cyber-intelligence agency, Unit 8200, has joined as a partner to help identify cybersecurity, SaaS, big data, artificial intelligence, and fintech startups. Fisher, who will join the Israel office based in Tel Aviv, brings 14 years of technology-focused experience from serving nine years at Unit 8200’s Cyber-Intelligence Agency and 8200 EISP, a top Israeli accelerator. She will maintain a board position at 8200 EISP and at the 8200 alumni association. Led by Victor Orlovski, Founder and Managing Partner, Fort Ross Ventures brings together Silicon Valley venture expertise with an extensive network of relationships in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Israel to accelerate success for portfolio companies including Uber, GridGain, Moven, eToro, Tufin, NetGuardians, Mobeewave and LendingHome, among others. 25/03/2020
