Israeli universities crack global top 10 for startup fundraising

Graduates from two Israeli universities have ranked in the top ten globally for raising American capital in PitchBook’s 2025 undergraduate entrepreneurship rankings, published this week. Tel Aviv University retained its 7th-place position worldwide and remains the highest-ranked institution outside the United States. The Technion made a notable leap, climbing three spots from 13th to 10th place. The ranking highlights the world’s leading universities in terms of the number of entrepreneurs among their graduates and is compiled annually by PitchBook, a business information company that tracks startups raising capital in the U.S.

Tel Aviv University earned its position with 865 bachelor’s-degree graduates who founded 736 companies over the past decade, collectively raising $30 billion in capital. The Technion recorded 783 entrepreneurs, 671 companies, and $26.7 billion raised. The Hebrew University ranked 30th with $15.1 billion raised, while Reichman University, despite its relative youth, ranked 47th with $9 billion, ahead of Oxford University ($50 billion). Ben-Gurion University placed 52nd, surpassing Cambridge ($54 billion), and Bar-Ilan University ranked 90th. The Weizmann Institute was excluded from the undergraduate ranking because it does not award bachelor’s degrees.

Tel Aviv University.

The global ranking is led by the University of California, Berkeley, followed by Stanford, Harvard, Penn, MIT, and Cornell. PitchBook lists top companies founded by these graduates, including Generate ($4.3 billion), Lendbuzz ($1.2 billion), and Next Insurance ($1 billion). Among Technion graduates, notable companies include Uber Freight ($2.7 billion), Lendbuzz, and Fireblocks ($1 billion).

PitchBook also publishes rankings for graduate and MBA alumni. Graduates may appear in multiple categories. In these rankings, Tel Aviv University ranks 14th among graduate alumni, the Technion 30th, Hebrew University 35th, Ben-Gurion 80th, Bar-Ilan 89th, and the Weizmann Institute 92nd.

Prof. Moshe Zviran, Chief Entrepreneurship and innovation officer at Tel Aviv University, said: “The fact that year after year the prestigious PitchBook Entrepreneurship Index ranks Tel Aviv University seventh in the world is evidence that it is the leading engine in cultivating entrepreneurial graduates who found companies, raise venture capital, and drive the Israeli economy forward.”

Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan added: “In recent years, the Technion has expanded and deepened entrepreneurship studies for undergraduates. t:hub – the Technion’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship – supports students and other communities in realizing their entrepreneurial ideas. T3, the Technion’s commercialization arm, helps identify technologies with commercial potential at the Technion and connects researchers with industry, leading companies, and entrepreneurs. These activities foster entrepreneurship within the student and research community and strengthen the bond between the Technion and industry – one of our central strategic goals today.”