Ex-NBA player Omri Casspi has secured $60 million to bolster his fresh venture fund, Swish Ventures, aimed at injecting resources into budding cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI enterprises. The fund envisions supporting 10 startups, with each receiving an investment ranging from $5 million to $7 million.

Swish Ventures represents Casspi’s sophomore fund following the establishment of Sheva Capital, a fund worth $36 million, in 2022. Casspi stated he currently oversees Sheva’s portfolio since its investment window has closed. “I’m deeply involved in continuing our companies’ progression, but we will refrain from launching another fund under Sheva,” Casspi conveyed to TechCrunch, detailing his supervisory role over both funds.

Numerous founders supported by Sheva have become investors in Swish Ventures, such as EON’s founder Ophir Ehrlich, Upwind’s lead Amiram Shachar, and PointFive’s co-initiators Gal Ben-David and Alon Arvatz. They are joined by other institutional patrons; Sequoia Capital stands as a principal investor in the fund.

Casspi mentions that Swish Ventures will uphold a similar approach to Sheva’s, emphasizing seed investments in “ventures helmed by seasoned businesspeople who have the capability to establish market-defining enterprises.” Nevertheless, Swish Ventures is refining its concentration to cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI — a departure from Sheva’s broader mandate, which also encompassed financial technology and web3 along with cybersecurity ventures.

This adjustment mirrors the escalating interest investors have in cybersecurity and AI, notably within Israel and the United States, where Casspi has concentrated his financial efforts. 

Israel, in particular, is recognized for its prowess in cybersecurity — with the sector accounting for over half of the venture capital acquired by Israeli startups in the first half of 2024, as reported by Startup Nation Central.

Likewise, enterprises such as Wiz, which famously declined a $23 billion acquisition bid from Google, and Eon, which achieved unicorn status shortly after its inception, exemplify Israel’s leadership in cloud security and its affinity for entrepreneurs on their second endeavor in this sphere. Wiz’s founders disposed of their previous enterprise, Adallom, to Microsoft in 2015, whereas Eon’s creators sold their former business, CloudEndure, to Amazon in 2019. 

Casspi has personally invested in Wiz, while Eon belongs to Sheva’s portfolio.

As the inaugural Israeli in the NBA and the past leader of Israel’s national basketball team, Casspi is among several athletes transitioning into venture capital. Just days ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the venture capital sphere. Serena Williams effectively leads Serena Ventures, Kevin Durant operates 35V, Stephen Curry manages Penny Jar Capital, and Andre Iguodala presides over Mosaic General Partnership.

Casspi asserts his firms manage approximately $125 million in assets. Additional startups in Sheva’s lineup include Upwind, which recently affirmed its $900 million valuation (with Stephen Curry’s Penny Jar also involved) and PointFive, whose founders previously sold a business to Rapid7 and secured $36 million.

Swish is also welcoming Dana Alexandrovich as an operational partner. Prior to this, Alexandrovich was the COO of Microsoft in Israel since 2021, supervising sales functions throughout the Middle East and Africa.