Accel Partner: "Israel excels in practical applications of AI"

"While the innovation in the basic models of AI comes mainly from the USA and Europe, the State of Israel excels especially in practical applications of artificial intelligence," says Andrei Brasoveanu, partner at Accel, in a conversation with Calcalist’s Jordan Rozanski at the Mind the Tech London 2024 conference of Calcalist and Bank Leumi. According to Brasoveanu, the Israeli entrepreneurs continue to demonstrate a high ability in translating research into actual products and in the sale of the products as well. "We see very good and even exciting AI applications in areas such as financial services, development tools, and improving sales and operations," he said.

Can you explain to us what Accel is and how it is connected to Israel?

"Accel is a global venture capital fund that supports more than 200 different companies in 60 cities in Europe and Israel. Our fund was founded 40 years ago on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, California. Since then, for 24 years the fund has been operating from London, where it covers Europe and Israel. The fund was one of the earliest believers in the potential of the business environment of the State of Israel."

What does Accel focus on in its investments in Israel?

"Accel is looking to invest in leading companies, especially in light of Israel's clear technological strength. The cyber field is a significant point of focus for us - when out of the 40 cyber companies in the fund's global portfolio, the majority come from the State of Israel. The advantage of the Israeli entrepreneurs who passed the programs of the technological units in the army is that they provide them not only with technical training but also important connections and mentoring."

What are the interesting trends you see in the Israeli ecosystem?

"The first thing is talent turnover - senior employees from leading companies who become entrepreneurs themselves. In addition, I also recognize serial entrepreneurs - especially in the cyber field, who establish larger companies after selling their previous companies. Finally I also recognize an increasing resilience of the ecosystem. Beyond the domain of cyber, where the resilience is clear, there is also significant growth in the fields of fintech and crypto."

How did the war affect your activities in Israel?

"The fund remains supportive and understands the complex situation. And it is indeed complex. It is worth noting the resilience and passion of Israeli entrepreneurs in the face of challenges. Despite the changes, companies continue to focus on growth, and new entrepreneurs continue to start companies. And that is a very welcome thing. Accel continued to invest even after the outbreak of the war. The fact that many of the companies have development in Israel and sales activity in the U.S. has contributed to relative stability on the sales side."

What are Israel's unique challenges in terms of the business environment?

"Sometimes there is an excess of excellent technical talent, but a lack of talent in the go-to-market field (a term that describes a company's marketing and market penetration strategy regarding the product it intends to sell to customers). In addition, there is a relative lack of commercial experience among the entrepreneurs, partly due to the model of a double headquarters (Israel-USA)".

Where can the Israeli ecosystem improve?

"I believe that the story of the Israeli ecosystem is just beginning to be written. I feel encouraged by the continuation of the tradition of generations of entrepreneurs raising the bar for future generations. There is a global focus from day one, a feature that has always been an advantage of Israeli companies. I hope to see the bar continue to rise when it comes to the size and influence of companies from Israel."

Brasoveanu anticipates continued growth and innovation, especially in areas such as generative artificial intelligence, advanced cyber, and fintech. He believes that the combination of technical talent, bold entrepreneurship, and growing experience in building global companies will lead to the creation of more "unicorn" companies and global market leaders from Israel. "I see the growing potential in the cleantech field - where Israeli knowledge and experience can lead to significant breakthroughs and the continuation of the successes that Israeli high-tech already has in the field."

Watch the full interview in the video above.