Surround Ventures (formerly Sababa Ventures)

Surround Ventures (founded and launched as Sababa Ventures in November 2019) is an Israel-focused early-stage venture capital firm investing at the intersection of media, entertainment, sports and commerce technology. The firm is headquartered in Tel Aviv with additional offices in New York and Los Angeles, reflecting its thesis of bridging Israeli technology with the US media and entertainment industries. Surround was co-founded by Managing Partners Jared Kash, a tech entrepreneur and investor, and Yaron Kniajer, an investor with an investment banking background. Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media and former head of marketing at Facebook, joined as General Partner, and Robert Friedman, CEO of Bungalow Media + Entertainment and former senior executive at Time Warner and New Line Cinema, joined as Venture Partner. The firm originally targeted a $35 million fund and had raised approximately $17.5 million in early commitments by late 2019. It has since grown to a team of around 13 people including seven partners. The portfolio comprises 25 disclosed investments with 1 unicorn, 2 IPOs and 9 acquisitions. Notable exits include Yotpo, Outbrain and Wibbitz. Typical deal profile reflects seed rounds averaging approximately $5.3 million and Series A rounds averaging approximately $12.5 million. Recent investments in 2025 include Onebeat (business and productivity software, May 2025) and QuamCore. Other portfolio names include XED Beverages and Solvo. Surround Ventures' combination of Israeli technology expertise and deep US entertainment industry relationships through Friedman and Zuckerberg creates a distinctive cross-border platform that Israeli founders targeting US media and entertainment markets find difficult to replicate through any other VC relationship.