Haim Saban interviews President Obama at the Saban Forum on Middle East policy. Image by Getty Images

Billionaire entertainment mogul Haim Saban has unveiled a $100 million venture capital fund for Israeli startups.

The Saban Ventures fund will invest in companies in the mobile, social networks, ecommerce and digital media sectors, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. The fund also will be open to investing in fields such as cloud computing and fintech, according to Globes.

“We are open to investment in Israeli companies or companies linked to Israel or Israelis,” fund manager Barak Pridor, former CEO of the Tel Aviv-based Thomson Reuters tech subsidiary ClearForest, told The Marker, the business publication of the Israeli daily Haaretz. “Saban is a winning combination — a partner with deep pockets, patience and the ability to open doors and access markets.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Saban , 71, the founder and owner of the successful Power Rangers franchise, owns Israeli mobile operator Partner Communications Ltd., which this month began its rebranding campaign after ending its relationship with the French telecommunications giant Orange following a BDS controversy.

Saban, who lives in the United States and also holds Israeli citizenship, is one of Israel’s richest billionaires with a net worth of $3.6 billion as of Tuesday, according to Forbes.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount