ZORA Ventures

ZORA Ventures is a Tel Aviv-based impact venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Vanessa Bartram. Since inception it has been a leader in Israel's impact space as an early-stage deep tech investor, backing leading scientists and entrepreneurs with globally scalable technology to combat climate change and cultivate sustainable food systems. The firm positions itself as a hands-on investor and operator working intimately with its teams to convert lab-scale innovations into mainstream food, agriculture and climate solutions for the world's largest corporations. Its first vehicle, the ZORA Israel Impact Fund, is an oversubscribed US$10M fund invested in Israel's leading foodtech, agtech and climate-tech startups; each portfolio company targets significant, quantifiable progress toward a UN Sustainable Development Goal, climate change, environment, health access or food security, while aiming to deliver top-quartile venture returns. ZORA invests primarily at seed and Series A in Israel-based startups, with a portfolio of roughly 12 companies spanning Israel, the US and the UK, generally as a co-investor. Notable investments include WeedOUT in bio-based agtech, Wasteless in food-waste software, Solutum in plastic-alternative packaging, Amai Proteins in designer proteins and healthy sweeteners, and Forsea Foods in cultivated seafood, with at least one exit, CodeMonkey. The firm has partnered with Rho Impact to advance climate innovation and impact measurement. Founder and Managing Partner Vanessa Bartram is an impact entrepreneur turned investor, previously founder of the Miami-based HR company WorkSquare; she holds an MBA from Harvard and a BA from Princeton. ZORA backs Israeli foodtech, agtech and climate founders.