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Team8

Team8 is an Israeli venture creation and capital firm founded in 2014 by veterans of the Israel Occupational Forces' Unit 8200, including Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg, and Liran Grinberg. Unit 8200 is known for its expertise in cybersecurity and intelligence, and Team8 leverages this talent to build and invest in startups across cybersecurity, fintech, AI, and digital health

Unit 8200 & Other Intelligence Units

Unit 8200 and other Military Intelligence Directorates are secretive cybersecurity and intelligence units within the Israeli Occupational Forces. Many founders and members associated with Team8 have served in these units.

After completing mandatory service, veterans of Unit 8200 and other intelligence units, like all IOF soldiers, are required to serve in the reserves until their early 40s. This typically involves an annual commitment of up to three weeks. As a result, founders and members of Team8 are connected to and potentially contribute to and support the ongoing Israeli military operations.

These units have been implicated in numerous atrocities committed by the Israeli Occupational Forces, including the recent terrorist attack on Lebanese civilians using exploding communication equipment and employing AI systems to target random civilians as "targets" to be bombed in Gaza.

Defending Genocide & War Crimes

On October 13, 2023, the CEO of Web Summit, Europe’s largest technology conference, posted on social media criticizing Western leaders for failing to condemn Israel's war crimes in Gaza and the genocide carried out by Israeli Occupation Forces. In response, the Israeli venture capital ecosystem, including Team8, issued a joint statement announcing their boycott of the conference.

We, members of the Israeli high-tech community, have made the decision to cancel sponsorship and will not attend the upcoming Web Summit. We cannot, in good conscience, participate in a conference whose leadership blames Israel for war crimes while Hamas terrorists committed one of the worst terror attacks in modern history,

Despite the CEO of Web Summit's statement presenting factual observations within the context of the atrocities—later unequivocally confirmed by the UN and the global community—Israeli venture capitalists demanded unwavering support for their state, which was already engaged in the mass killing of civilians at the time.

We are disappointed that in these tragic times, the Web Summit is unable to stand unequivocally with the Israeli people and our right to live in peace and security.

These statements have led major tech companies such as Siemens, Google, Intel, and Stripe to withdraw from the conference. Such actions should not be condoned, and all venture capitalists who endorsed the statement should be boycotted.

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