Noa Argamani joins Vine Ventures to help Israeli startups grow in the US
The former hostage, who was rescued by the IDF after 246 days in Hamas’ captivity, hopes to connect Israeli founders with the American market
Noa Argamani – the young woman the world came to know as the “girl on the motorbike” after footage showed her pleading for her life as she was captured by Hamas on October 7 – has joined venture capital firm Vine Ventures to help Israeli startups grow in the US.
Noa, 28, was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, from the Nova music festival in southern Israel. Footage showing her being forced onto a motorcycle as she reached towards him circulated around the world. She was rescued by Israeli forces in June 2024, after 246 days in captivity, alongside three other hostages. She was then able to visit her mother, Liora, who was seriously ill with cancer.
This week, Noa announced on LinkedIn that she would be is beginning a career in venture capital, joining Vine Ventures. She had interned at the early-stage investment company earlier this year before joining the firm full-time in September.
Noa posted that she was “excited, a little emotional, and mostly grateful to continue living my life.
“For many people, I’m Noa Argamani, who was rescued by the IDF after 246 days in Hamas’ captivity,” she wrote. “That’s part of me, and it always will be. But it’s not all of me, and I’d like you to get to know me in my new role too.”
In an interview with Business Insider, Noa said she wanted to help Israeli startups overcome the challenge of entering the American market. She described venture capital as a place where she could learn, make an impact and work with people who think ambitiously.
Vine Ventures was established in 2020 by Eric Reiner and Dan Povitsky. It invests in companies at an early stage and has a presence in New York, Tel Aviv and San Francisco. Its portfolio includes Israeli AI company Wonderful, AI coding platform Qodo and cloud backup business Eon.
At the time of her abduction, Noa was studying artificial intelligence at Ben-Gurion University and considering a career as a software engineer. She returned to her studies after her rescue, but told Business Insider she had come to see a different way to use the opportunities and connections that followed.
Reiner, who previously worked at Insight Partners and Israeli software company Dynamic Yield, met Noa through her advocacy for hostages. He invited her to intern at Vine in April, giving her a chance to learn how investors assess young companies and support their growth.
Noa hopes her new role will make her a link between Israeli founders and Silicon Valley. “If you’re building something, have an idea you can’t stop thinking about or you’re in the [Silicon] Valley and looking to help the most ambitious founders in Israel succeed, I hope to be a bridge between the two ecosystems,” she wrote. “My DMs are always open.”