Iron Nation is a venture capital firm with offices in Israel and the US Midwest, founded in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. The firm closed Fund II at $60 million and is built around the thesis that Israel's deepest crisis has also created its most concentrated pool of engineering talent, defense expertise, and entrepreneurial urgency. Iron Nation backs Israeli founders and companies across cybersecurity, AI, medtech, defense technology, and deeptech, with a dual mandate to support Israeli innovation while connecting it to the US Midwest through a unique LP relationship with the State of Indiana.
Iron Nation invests in Israeli technology companies across cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, medtech, defense technology, and deeptech. The firm's thesis is rooted in the belief that Israel's military-technical culture, shaped by mandatory service in elite intelligence and technology units, produces founders with a fundamentally different approach to hard problems. The firm also has a specific focus on building bridges between Israeli startups and US Midwest institutional and corporate partners, with the State of Indiana as an anchor LP and strategic partner.
Iron Nation Fund II closed at $60 million, with the State of Indiana committing $15 million as the anchor LP — one of the largest direct LP commitments a US state has made to an Israeli VC fund. The fund targets investments across cybersecurity, AI, medtech, defense tech, and deeptech, from seed through Series B.
Fund II builds on the firm's founding momentum and benefits from the Indiana partnership, which gives portfolio companies access to state-level procurement relationships, corporate networks, and talent pipelines across the Midwest. Fund II also demonstrated early exit momentum with Illumex's acquisition by Nvidia in March 2026.
Leadership
Gil Friedlander is a co-founder and partner at Iron Nation. Chen Linchevski serves as Managing Partner, and Jason Wolf serves as Managing Partner alongside Linchevski. The team's founding timing, immediately following October 7, reflects a deliberate commitment to continuing Israel's innovation economy during a period of national crisis.
Investment Strategy
Iron Nation invests from seed through Series B, with particular emphasis on Israeli founders and companies with US market ambitions. The firm writes checks that allow it to lead early-stage rounds and maintain meaningful ownership as companies scale. The Indiana LP relationship is a core part of the investment strategy: Iron Nation actively works to place portfolio companies into the Indiana and broader Midwest ecosystem, creating a channel for Israeli companies seeking US expansion that most Israel-focused funds do not offer.
Notable Investments
Iron Nation's portfolio spans cybersecurity, AI, and defense technology, with one confirmed exit to date:
Notable Exits
The firm's portfolio includes one confirmed exit from Fund II:
Other
Iron Nation is structurally different from other Israel-focused VC funds because of its explicit Midwest US anchoring, driven by the Indiana LP relationship. For Israeli founders looking for a US partner who brings geographic reach beyond the coasts, Iron Nation offers a differentiated channel into government, healthcare, and industrial corporate networks in the Midwest. The Nvidia acquisition of Illumex demonstrates early exit discipline and validates the firm's ability to identify companies that large strategic buyers will pursue.
Gil Friedlander - Co-Founder & Partner
Chen Linchevski - Managing Partner
Jason Wolf - Managing Partner
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