Yissum

Yissum is the technology-transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of the most prolific academic commercialization engines in Israel. Yissum spins out and provides initial capital to academic innovations across biotech, pharma and therapeutics, and medical devices, drawing on the university’s research output. For physician-scientist founders connected to Hebrew University, Yissum is the structural starting point for moving research into a company.

The thesis is academic at its core. Yissum identifies inventions and research projects within the university, supports the formation of companies around them, and provides the catalytic early capital and intellectual-property structure needed to make a spinout viable. Biotech, pharma and therapeutics, and medical devices are the most active categories, with AI-in-healthcare appearing where the underlying research is strong. The fund does not operate as a generalist venture capital firm; it is a commercialization platform tied to the university.

Check sizes sit below 250 thousand dollars, consistent with the pre-seed positioning and the spinout model. Stage focus is firmly at the start: pre-seed and seed, with follow-on capital expected to come from Israeli seed and Series A funds once the company has matured beyond the initial spinout phase. Geography is Israel-anchored, with the expectation that companies will engage United States and European commercial markets as they grow.

The team is small and embedded in the university’s research and clinical structures, which is the structural advantage. Diligence is built around the academic context, the strength of the underlying research, and the potential for a credible commercial pathway.

Approach Yissum when you are a Hebrew University researcher, clinician, or graduate with a research-derived invention and a willingness to spin out a company around it. Pure outside-the-university founders without an academic anchor will not be a fit; Yissum’s role is to commercialize Hebrew University intellectual property. The most direct path in is through your department, your principal investigator, or the Yissum office directly. Time the conversation when you have a research insight with commercial potential, the institutional support to spin it out, and a willingness to engage with the technology-transfer process. Founders should plan for a structured commercialization process and a long-term partnership with the university rather than a fast deal.