Israeli universities rank in world top 10 for startup founders
Tel Aviv University and the Technion produced startups that raised more than $50bn over the past decade shows PitchBook data
Two Israeli universities have been ranked among the world’s top institutions for producing venture capital-backed startup founders, according to new analysis based on PitchBook data published by Silicon Valley investment firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Tel Aviv University ranked seventh globally for undergraduate alumni who went on to found venture-backed companies, while the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology – placed tenth, making Israel the only country outside the United States with two universities in the global top 10.
While no British university appeared in the undergraduate rankings top 10, UK institutions performed strongly elsewhere in the PitchBook data. The University of Cambridge ranked seventh globally for graduate founders, with Oxford University placing eighth, while Imperial College London was recognised as one of Europe’s leading centres for deep-tech entrepreneurship and AI spinouts.
The rankings analysed more than 170,000 founders worldwide who raised institutional venture capital between 2014 and 2025, tracking the universities that produced the highest number of startup entrepreneurs.
According to the research, Tel Aviv University alumni founded around 865 companies that collectively raised approximately $30 billion over the past decade. Technion graduates founded roughly 783 venture-backed startups, raising a combined $23 billion.
The findings were highlighted this week by the Israel Innovation Authority, which said the results demonstrated that “ecosystem strength isn’t about population size, but infrastructure, culture and the ability to turn research into globally competitive companies.”
Andreessen Horowitz, one of the world’s most influential venture capital firms and an early investor in companies including Airbnb, Coinbase and OpenAI, said Israeli institutions stand out particularly in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and computer vision.
The report described Stanford University as the world’s leading “AI factory”, alongside MIT and the University of Toronto, but noted that Israeli universities are producing disproportionately high numbers of AI-focused founders relative to their size.
Industry analysts say Israel’s performance reflects the close links between universities, military intelligence units, venture capital firms and the country’s wider startup ecosystem.
The report also found that Israeli universities outperform many elite American institutions on “founder efficiency”, measuring the number of startup founders produced per 1,000 students.
Analysts say the contrast between Britain and Israel reflects structural differences between the two technology ecosystems.
Israeli entrepreneurs often launch companies earlier in their careers, frequently following military service or undergraduate study, supported by an aggressive venture capital culture and strong technical networks.
In Britain, founders are more likely to emerge from postgraduate research programmes, specialist AI laboratories and university spinout ecosystems linked to institutions such as Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial.
The findings come as global investors increasingly focus on AI and deep-tech innovation, areas where both Israel and the UK are competing to attract capital and talent.
Andreessen Horowitz said the AI boom is also changing the traditional founder pathway, with more entrepreneurs remaining in academia longer to complete advanced AI-related degrees before launching companies.
At the same time, the firm said advances in AI tools and cloud computing are dramatically lowering barriers to startup creation, describing 2026 as a “golden age for young entrepreneurs” in which small teams can build products that previously required large engineering organisations.
The rankings are closely watched by investors because they help identify emerging technology ecosystems and future talent pipelines. Despite geopolitical uncertainty, Israel continues to attract strong international interest in sectors including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and enterprise software.
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