On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with David Marcus, the CEO and co-founder of Lightspark. Most recently, he led all payments and crypto efforts on Meta/Facebook. In 2018, David started Diem (fka Libra). He joined Meta in 2014 to lead Messenger, which he took from under 200M monthly users to over 1.5B. Previously, he was PayPal’s President. A lifelong entrepreneur, David launched two companies in Europe and then founded mobile payments company Zong in Silicon Valley, which was acquired by PayPal in 2011. 

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 - Intro

01:54 - Dropping Out of College

05:07 - Elite Colleges Are Radicalizing Students

07:45 - AI Makes College Mostly Obsolete

15:30 - Libra Threatened the Global Financial Order

17:36 - Janet Yellen Personally Killed Libra

18:55 - Why Centralized Crypto Always Fails

19:40 - Bitcoin Is the Only Neutral Money

23:38 - Bitcoin Can’t Work - Until Lightning

26:05 - Bitcoin Replaces SWIFT and Banks

30:11 - Stablecoins Are Corporate Control Tools

33:45 - Bitcoin Enables Real De-Dollarization

36:10 - Most Financial Crime Isn’t Crypto

41:30 - Bitcoin Is the Ultimate Bar Mitzvah Gift

43:10 - Bitcoin Will Hit Seven Figures

44:05 - US Education Is a National Security Threat

47:35 - Parents Are Letting Kids Be Radicalized

54:20 - Mark Zuckerberg Backed Libra Until End

56:10 - Why Governments Fear Neutral Money

57:30 - Politics Destroyed My Faith in DC

59:10 - Israel, Iran, and Regime Change Hopes

01:03:45 - Europe’s Point of No Return

RESOURCES

Follow David on X: https://x.com/davidmarcus  

Learn more about Lightspark: https://www.lightspark.com/ 

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Sofi Levak, Myron Shneider, Dalit Merenfeld

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov, Nadav Elovic 

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this special episode of Invested, Michael Eisenberg curates the most compelling conversations and sharpest ideas from across our 2025 episodes. From Gavin Baker’s contrarian argument that climate change is already economically solved, to Nas Daily’s declaration that followers - and organic reach - are effectively dead, this episode captures the ideas that sparked the most debate, reflection, and conviction.

We revisit investing legends through Sender Cohen’s comparison of George Soros and Stan Druckenmiller, explore post-acquisition realities inside Big Tech with Noam Bardin’s unfiltered reflections on Google, and unpack how companies like Fiverr and Wix reinvent perception and scale by building boldly for their next ten million users.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 - Intro

00:46 – Gavin Baker: Why Global Warming Is a Solved Problem

03:54 – Sender Cohen on George Soros vs. Stan Druckenmiller

06:52 – Nas Daily: “Followers Are Dead”

07:45 – Noam Bardin’s Letter After Leaving Google

11:11 – Gali Arnon: the Genius Strategy for Growing Fiverr

13:01 – Micha Kaufman: Companies Don’t Owe You Career Growth

17:19 – Omri Casspi: Life After the NBA

19:07 – Adam Fisher: Sacrificing a Million Users for the Next 10 Million

RESOURCES

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Sofi Levak, Myron Shneider, Dalit Merenfeld

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov, Nadav Elovic 

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with David Magerman, a co-founder and Managing Partner at Differential Ventures, a New York-based venture capital fund investing in deep technology companies that help power the data-driven economy. Previously, he spent the entirety of his career at Renaissance Technologies, widely recognized as the world’s most successful quantitative hedge fund management company. He helped found the equities trading group at Renaissance, joining the group in its earliest days, playing a lead role in designing and building the trading, simulation, and estimation software. David holds a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University where his thesis on Natural Language Parsing as Statistical Pattern Recognition was an early and successful attempt to use large-scale data to produce fully-automated syntactic analysis of text.

David is also the founder and president of Tzemach David, an education-focused foundation working to make education in Israel more accessible to English-speaking immigrants. Outside of his foundation's work, he is a significant contributor to the OU-JLIC in Israel, Koren Publications, Lori Palatnik's Momentum Unlimited, The City of David, and Rabbi Shlomo Katz's Shirat David, as well as some other more under-the-radar projects supporting the development and strength of the Land of Israel.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 - Intro

02:55 - Why Wall Street’s Smartest Fund Rejected Finance People

06:04 - If You Can’t Close, You’re Useless

08:42 - The Hedge Fund That Invented Google Culture

12:58 - We Got Rich Solving Problems That Didn’t Matter

15:55 - How Jim Simons Proved Economists Were Wrong

17:23 - Success Was the Only Thing That Made Me Happy

18:28 - Why My Team Was Afraid of Me

21:56 - The Day I Realized No One Actually Cared

25:42 - Why Renaissance Was a Moral Failure

27:51 - I’m Glad I Made All the Wrong Choices

39:08 - AI Has Always Been a Scam

41:53 - The Truth About AI Demos No One Admits

44:55 - We Gave a Dangerous Technology to Children

45:33 - This AI Bubble Makes the Dot-Com Crash Look Small

52:38 - AI Is Killing the Next Generation of Engineers

55:47 - We’re Raising a Workforce That Can’t Think

56:42 - Most AI Use Cases Are Stupid

1:03:39 - How Tech Makes Money by Hurting People

1:08:34 - Why “Startup Nation” Is the Wrong Story

RESOURCES

Follow David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-magerman-954b25174/

Learn more about Differential Ventures: https://www.differential.vc/ 

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Sofi Levak

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov, Nadav Elovic 

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with Jeff Clavier, the Founding Partner at Uncork Capital, a seed-stage venture firm in Palo Alto and San Francisco. Clavier founded Uncork Capital in 2004 (then called SoftTech VC) to provide active support and capital for companies in their first 18 months of life. Jeff has helped numerous companies reach successful outcomes, including Fitbit (NYSE: FIT), SendGrid (NYSE: SEND, Twilio), Eventbrite (NYSE: EB), Postmates (Uber), and Poshmark (NASDAQ: POSH). His current investments include ClassDojo, DroneDeploy, Shippo, Front, Loft Orbital, and Carrot Fertility.

Jeff was born in France and graduated from Université Paris Descartes with an M.S. in Computer Science. He was formerly the CTO and an early employee at Effix, a fintech startup that sold to Reuters. In 2000, he immigrated to the U.S. and joined RVC, Reuters’ $450 million corporate venture capital fund, as a general partner. He recently wrapped up his four-year term on the board of the National Venture Capital Association.

One of the early VC bloggers in 2004, Jeff is now a popular conference speaker and social media/TV commentator. When he is not spending time with Uncork’s portfolio companies, Jeff enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking, scuba diving, collecting wine, and hanging out with friends and family.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 - Intro

03:52 - Is Seed Investing Just “VC Tourism”?

06:08 - Why Being a “VC Lifer” Matters

08:35 - How Uncork Wins 91% of its Term Sheets

11:59 - GP Fundraising is Harder Than Startup Fundraising

14:15 - Capital Bottleneck in Private Markets 

16:38 - Now it Takes 15 Years to Prove You’re a Good VC

20:46 - The Real Choke Point in Venture Isn’t Seed

26:13 - The “Three Asses” Rule

29:00 - Gut Feel vs. Process

32:54 - Passing on LinkedIn and Uber

37:45 - How Do You Know if You’re Actually Good at Venture?

41:19 - Succession Planning: Stepping Back After 21 Years

46:09 - Uncork Can’t Depend on One Person

47:05 - From Venture to Winemaking 

52:15 - Go Narrow First

RESOURCES

Follow Jeff on X - https://x.com/jeff

Learn more about Uncork Capital - https://uncorkcapital.com

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Sofi Levak

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with Dr. Jacques Benkoski, a seasoned technologist, operator, and venture capitalist with a career spanning research, corporate, startups, and international investing.

As a partner at U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Jacques brings decades of experience investing in the U.S. and Israel across cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and cybersecurity. A speaker and mentor, he has taught his Market Entry Strategy seminar to over 5,000 entrepreneurs and released an expanded version of these materials in the eponymous book to help entrepreneurs turn vision into execution, and scale with purpose.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 - Intro

03:59 - Riding the Dot-Com Wave 

08:09 - Joining USVP & the Israel Strategy

12:06 - Bubbles Are Good

14:50 - AI Adoption Will Follow Workflows, Not Replace Them

17:44 - 95% of AI Projects Fail - and That’s Normal

19:21 - Israel’s Biggest Founder Weakness

20:45 - Why Being Founder-Friendly isn’t Helpful 

24:16 - The Wiz Effect

31:20 - Jacques’s Market Entry Strategy

38:49 - Why ‘Crossing the Chasm’ Is Obsolete

47:19 - War Doesn’t Affect Investment in Israel

52:00 - Israeli Trait That Hurts Sales

56:16 - The Galapagos Syndrome

RESOURCES

Follow Jacques on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacques-benkoski-ab9133

“The Market Entry Strategy” Book: https://a.co/d/etw96SX

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Sofi Levak

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with Henry Ward, the CEO and co-founder of Carta. Carta is trusted by more than 50,000 companies, over 8,500 investment funds and SPVs, and over 1.6 million equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. The company has been included on the Forbes World’s Best Cloud Companies, Fast Company’s Most Innovative list, and Inc.’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Prior to Carta, Henry was founder and CEO of Secondsight, a portfolio optimization platform for retail investors. He also held leadership positions at software companies including Reddwerks Inc. and BetweenMarkets. Henry graduated from University of Michigan with a BGS in Mathematics and Computer Science and holds a MSC in Market Finance from EDHEC Business School.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 – Intro

01:24 – The Value Proposition of Carta

03:56 – Disrupting Traditional Professional Services

09:18 – How Carta Implements AI

17:16 – The Future of Accounting and Determinism vs. Stochasticism

20:39 – Branding vs. Product Quality in Professional Services

24:46 – Competing, Copycats, and Execution at Scale

27:02 – Core Values: Transparency and EQ

28:48 – Missionaries vs. Mercenaries: Carta’s Hiring Philosophy

31:37 – How to Find Missionaries: Recruiting Strategies

34:55 – Writing, Transparency, and Thought Leadership

36:32 – Clock Speed: Becoming a Fast-Execution Organization

48:03 – Work–Life Integration and Parenting as a CEO

51:01 – Navigating Crises: Trust, Resilience, and the CartaX Shutdown

53:57 – Future Predictions: What Will Shock Us in 20 Years

RESOURCES

Follow Henry on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heward/ 

Follow Henry on X  - https://x.com/henrysward 

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Sofi Levak

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with Nuseir Yassin - better known as Nas Daily. Nuseir rose to fame by taking on an ambitious challenge: creating 1,000 videos in 1,000 days. After graduating from Harvard, he made the bold decision to leave a stable engineering job in America to pursue content creation full-time. More than eight years, 68 million followers, and thousands of videos later, Nuseir has connected people from 197 countries through his signature one-minute videos across platforms.Today, while continuing to be one of the world’s most influential content creators, Yassin is the Founder and CEO of Nas Company - an ecosystem of businesses transforming how people connect, both online and offline.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!

KEY TOPICS 

02:00 – The First 270 Failures and One Viral Video

03:40 – When Success Makes You a Target

06:20 – Redefining Winning

08:40 – The One-Minute Revolution

11:30 – Using AI to Bridge Cultures

15:23 – “I Feel Israeli”: Identity and Belonging

21:07 – From a Village in Israel to Harvard

24:47 – The Power of Saying Yes

27:18 – The Golden Age of Solopreneurs

29:28 – Building Nas.io and the Future of Work

33:30 – Finding Talent Where Others Don’t Look

38:00 – Why Organic Reach Is Dead

44:45 – Discovering Hidden Global Talent

45:54 – Founders, Investors, and Control

49:50 – The Hardest Videos to Make

52:00 – Creator. Entrepreneur. Bridge Builder.

56:00 – The Cost of Bridge-Building

57:50 – Gratitude and the People Who Believed First

RESOURCES

Follow Nuseir on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyassin/ 

Follow Nuseir on X  - https://x.com/nasdaily/ 

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Sofi Levak

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael sits down with Gavin Baker who is the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Atreides Management, LP. In addition to overseeing investments and research at Atreides, he is responsible for the firm’s day-to-day portfolio management. Prior to founding Atreides in 2019, Gavin was at Fidelity Investments from 1999 to 2017, most recently as the portfolio manager of the Fidelity OTC Portfolio from 2009 to 2017. He also helped spearhead Fidelity’s venture capital investing from 2013 to 2017. Prior to managing the Fidelity OTC Portfolio, he was a portfolio manager of the Fidelity Select Wireless Portfolio from 2007 to 2011, the Fidelity Select Telecommunications Portfolio from 2007 to 2009 and the Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals Portfolio from 2002 to 2005. Gavin started his career at Fidelity as an analyst, and focused on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, retail, consumer packaged goods and telecommunications. Gavin earned an AB in economics and history from Dartmouth College.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts! 

KEY TOPICS 

00:00    Intro

02:10 Foundation Models: From Fastest Appreciating to Depreciating Assets

05:46 The Trillion-Dollar AI Club: OpenAI, Anthropic & xAI

10:25 The “Free Agency” Talent War and Religious Belief in ASI

12:55 Weaponizing Capital and the $600 Billion GPU Question

16:30  The 30-Year “Overnight Success” of Nvidia

20:22 Cerebras, NextSilicon, and the Power of Picking Niches

23:49 TSMC, Intel, and the Semiconductor “Chocolate Cake” Problem

26:40 Why Taiwan Semi’s Lead May Be Stabilizing, Not Existential

30:48 ”Intel Made Two Crucial Errors” 

32:42   When Washington Bought a Piece of Intel

37:00 Israel’s Role in the Allied Semiconductor Supply Chain

40:54 The New Semiconductor Cold War

47:11 Toward an “Allied Supply Chain” for Chips and AI

50:54 Why Gavin Says Global Warming is a Solved Problem

55:34 Mars, Neuralink, and the Next Human Frontier

01:00:19 Would You Always Bet on Elon Musk?

01:03:01 Mission-Driven Investing and Avoiding “Bad for the World” Bets

01:07:37 Why Tel Aviv Feels Like the Most Exciting City in the World

01:09:43 The Charlie Kirk Assassination and the Return of Political Violence

01:15:37 X Saved the Truth About October 7th 

01:23:57  SpaceX, Starlink, and the Future of Human Ambition

RESOURCES

Follow Gavin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavinbaker-portfoliomanager/

Follow Gavin on X - https://x.com/GavinSBaker

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts David Fialkow, co-founder and Managing Director of General Catalyst, one of the world’s leading venture capital firms managing over $40 billion. From early investments in companies like Airbnb, Stripe, and Warby Parker, to scaling global category leaders, General Catalyst has consistently backed transformative founders and ideas. David’s own career bridges entrepreneurship, film, and philanthropy. Before co-founding General Catalyst, he built and sold several companies across travel, specialty retail, and payments/financial services. Beyond investing, he’s an Academy Award–winning documentary producer, with credits including Navalny and Icarus, which exposed Russia’s state-sponsored doping scandal. David is also deeply involved in civic and philanthropic initiatives. With a unique blend of business vision, creative storytelling, and social impact, David brings a rare perspective on how capital can be a force for both innovation and positive change.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts! 

KEY TOPICS 

00:00 Intro

02:30 College at Colgate and an ESL Shock

04:19 Discovering Storytelling and Filmmaking

09:06 Founding Last Minute Travel with Joel Cutler

11:32 Duty-Free Cruise Business and Sale to LVMH

13:55 How to Win Mentors: Relevance, Time & Opinions

15:53 Storytelling and “Hot Buttons” in Pitching

18:18 Crohn’s, Children’s Hospital Gift & the Ironman Bet

21:40 Why David Started General Catalyst

23:23 “Shots on Goal” and the VC Mindset

25:19 Starting Fund I and Raising Capital

28:11 Succession Planning

33:01 Ken Chenault Joins General Catalyst

39:28 Filmmaking with his wife Nina Fialkow

41:28 The Vow and Bringing Down NXIVM

46:16 Icarus: Pivot to Russian Doping Scandal

48:45 Navalny, Sugarcane, and Storytelling as Justice

57:00 Raising $12M through Film Screenings

59:26 Pan-Mass Challenge

01:01:27 Dana-Farber’s Impact on Oncology Drugs

01:02:21 On Luck, Teams, and Keeping Ego in Check

01:03:50 Why Israel: Mission, Resilience, and Tech Future

RESOURCES

Follow David on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fialkow

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts Mati Gill, CEO of AION Labs, Israel’s first global biotech venture studio. Backed by Pfizer, Merck KGaA, AstraZeneca, Teva, and AWS, AION Labs pioneers a new model for company creation: uniting pharma giants, tech leaders, and investors to collaboratively build AI-first startups in drug discovery and development. Instead of the typical biotech trajectory—where most startups fail—AION ensures founders start with the right problem, data, talent, guidance, and backing from day one. Mati brings a rare blend of experiences across pharma, government, and security. Before AION, he was a senior executive at Teva Pharmaceuticals, leading global public policy and advising the CEO during major restructuring. Earlier, he served as Chief of Staff at Israel’s Ministry of Public Security, and as an IDF reserve officer he coordinated international operations with UN peacekeepers.

Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts! 

KEY TOPICS 

01:13 Early Life in Ohio and Moving to Israel

04:55 Military Service and Law School: Path to Public Service

06:43 Teva’s Origins and Growth into a Global Leader

11:24 Mergers, Acquisitions, and Teva’s Challenges

13:59 Leaving Teva and Founding AION Labs

14:12 What AION Labs is and Why the Name Matters

18:10 Merck, Teva, AWS, and VC Partners Joining AION

20:22 DenovAI and Antibody Discovery

23:08 Accelerating Drug Development with AI and Pharma Partners

24:43 AI in Gene Editing and the Baby KJ Case

27:39 Why Biology Expertise Must Balance AI

34:01 From Doubt to Investment: DenovAI’s Validation

36:59 Government Support and the Israel Innovation Authority

39:33 Which Startup Could Be AION’s First Mega Hit?

40:17 Core Values: Israel, Family, and Mission

44:21 Why Most Drugs Fail and How AI Can Help

45:59 Enhancement vs. Health: The Ethics of Gene Editing

48:18 Theranos, Transparency, and Governance Lessons

51:25 The One Disease to Cure: Alzheimer’s

55:41 What Teva Taught Mati About Scale and Missed Opportunities

57:01 Being Shot Near Gaza and Lessons from Survival

01:02:05 Public Service: Always on Loan to Israel

01:02:45 Will AI Cure Cancer?

RESOURCES

Follow Mati on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matigill

Follow Mati on X - https://x.com/matigill

Subscribe to Invested here: https://content.aleph.vc/invested

Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc 

Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: https://newsletter.aleph.vc/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/

Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/

Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg

‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/

‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/

CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi