“2026 is gonna be a lot more AI,” says Angel Invest's Jens Lapinski

“We don't mind if companies don't work, but the ones that do work, we want them to be important,” said Jens Lapinski, Managing Partner at Angel Invest, Europe's largest super angel fund, which is now making “about 100 investments per year in super early stage technology companies.”

Speaking to CTech at Calcalist, CTech and Bank Leumi’s Mind The Tech conference in Berlin, Lapinski explained that selection focuses on whether a company could be “really big and impactful” and whether the founders show “a certain percentage probability” of being able to execute. He noted that evaluating whether an impactful idea can actually be realized is “largely because of the team.”

In terms of Israeli startups, Lapinski said the fund has “invested in several Israeli startups,” and that those in the portfolio “are doing really well.” He attributed this in part to the nature of Israel’s small market, arguing that founders “automatically do the ‘Israeli model’ and go to the United States,” a strategy he encourages them to continue. Looking to 2026, Lapinski said he expects “a lot more AI,” describing the coming year as “a lot faster, a lot bigger, a lot better.”

You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.