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The Venture Codex

Protego Ventures

2 Sapir St., Herzliya, 4685206, Israel

Overview

Protego Ventures is an Israel-based firm that invests in early-stage companies pushing innovation in vital areas of defense technology. Our objective is to assist creative businesses and provide meaningful returns for our investors while also contributing to breakthroughs in defense and security in a rapidly changing environment.

Total investments
5
Lead investments
3
Investments · 12mo
4
Active investors
6
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Investment portfolio

  • ASIO Technologies

    Led · Equity · Jul 2026

    ASIO Technologies builds tactical systems—including tactical intelligence systems, command-and-control platforms, situational awareness tools, and jam-resistant navigation technologies—centered on its proprietary GeoFusion technology. Its solutions are designed to maintain operational independence, interoperability, and resilient edge navigation for ground and aerial forces operating in contested environments. The company’s technology has been battle-hardened and operationally proven in the hands of IDF troops and commanders for nearly a decade and is used by defense customers worldwide, including in the United States. ASIO was founded by Tomer Malchi and Yaniv Malchi and operated profitably and bootstrapped prior to this funding. With the $15 million round, ASIO plans to scale production, accelerate product development, and expand globally through partnerships with governments, defense primes, OEMs, and strategic industry partners.

  • Rilian

    Participated · Seed · Apr 2026

    Rilian develops Caspian, an AI-native agentic security orchestration platform that provides a single command layer to integrate, operate, and automate cyber and defense capabilities. Its pre-trained AI agents are designed to amplify analyst productivity, capture institutional knowledge, and operate in private/sovereign cloud, on-premise, air-gapped, and compliance-constrained environments. The company emphasizes rapid deployment timelines and sovereign-friendly architectures for governments, critical infrastructure operators, and commercial customers. Rilian was founded by Christian Schnedler, Nick Pompeo, and Dan Fischer and is based in McLean, Va. It has announced strategic partnerships with vendors such as SentinelOne, Censys, and SimSpace and in July 2025 signed a contract with the UAE Cybersecurity Council to implement Caspian at the UAE National Security Operations Center. The company positions itself to accelerate adoption of agentic AI across U.S. and allied defense and security programs.

  • XTEND

    Participated · Equity · Feb 2026

    Founded in 2018 by Aviv Shapira, Matteo Shapira, Rubi Liani and Adir Tubi, XTEND builds next-generation autonomous platforms that allow operators to remotely control aerial, ground and maritime drones through its proprietary XOS operating system. The technology is designed to keep personnel out of harm’s way while executing complex, dynamic tasks for defense, public safety and private security customers. XTEND’s field-proven systems are already deployed and the company plans to scale NDAA-compliant domestic manufacturing at its Tampa, Florida facility. Proceeds from its latest transaction will fund accelerated delivery to customers in the United States, NATO member states and Asia. XTEND operates in Israel, the United States and Singapore and will rebrand as XTEND AI Robotics when it lists on Nasdaq. The forthcoming public listing values the company at $1.5 billion. Roughly six months before this deal, XTEND closed a $70 million round jointly led by Protego Ventures and Aliya Capital.

  • Prisma Photonics

    Led · Equity · Oct 2025

    Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Prisma Photonics has developed the Hyper-Scan Fiber-Sensing platform, which combines advanced optical fiber sensing with proprietary AI to detect, classify and localize events along hundreds of kilometers of infrastructure with meter-level accuracy. The system is already deployed across thousands of kilometers and is used by 15 Tier-1 Transmission System Operators in the U.S. and Europe to manage threats ranging from intrusions and wildfires to grid congestion. By leveraging existing fiber, the company eliminates the need for installing additional sensors, creating a scalable, data-rich monitoring network. Each new deployment feeds more data into Prisma’s models, strengthening a self-reinforcing technology moat. Recent traction has encouraged the company to expand beyond its current U.S. and European footprint into Latin America, where utilities are racing to modernize transmission systems and integrate renewables. With the latest financing, Prisma Photonics has raised a cumulative $80 million to accelerate commercial growth and product enhancements. This capital positions the firm to further scale sales, refine its AI models, and fortify its leadership in infrastructure monitoring.

Team