Star Ventures

STAR Ventures is one of the first generation of Israeli venture capital firms, founded in 1992 by Dr. Meir Barel and headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, with a long-standing European office in Munich, Germany. Across its multi-decade history, STAR has managed approximately $1 billion of commitments and helped build more than 180 category-leading technology companies, making it one of Israel's most influential early-stage investors. The firm leads rounds and backs companies affiliated with Israel across information technology -- with an emphasis on data, telecommunications, internet, and enterprise software -- alongside semiconductors, enterprise infrastructure, and medical devices and life sciences. Dr. Barel began his career as Investment Manager and later Managing Partner at Techno Venture Management in Germany -- one of the country's largest VC firms -- before establishing STAR with the dual-geography footprint it still maintains. The core team today includes Dr. Barel and Investment Manager Amit Barel. STAR's portfolio has delivered 12 IPOs -- including Rong 360 on NYSE American in November 2017 and BioLineRx on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange -- and 58 acquisitions, with Deltek as the most recent disclosed exit, acquired by Aktion Associates in September 2025. The firm's most recent disclosed new investment is Parqour in February 2023. Other portfolio names include Insurobo and Progyny Global. STAR's Munich office is not decorative: the firm's German network was built over decades and provides its Israeli portfolio companies with a direct gateway to European enterprise customers and strategic acquirers -- a differentiated channel that younger Israeli funds without pre-existing European infrastructure cannot easily replicate.