📰 Calcalist: Women Funding Women: A Call to Action for Changing Investment Perceptions
Jan 30th 2025
Women Funding Women: A Call to Action for Changing Investment Perceptions
Women are Leading the Future of Technology – Investments Must Keep Up
In a world where artificial intelligence is changing the game, women must be a significant part of the revolution. However, the data points to a concerning trend: while investments in AI-based startups are growing rapidly, the percentage of investments allocated to women-led startups is declining. In 2024, only 20.5% of early-stage investments went to companies with a female founder, a sharp drop from 26.5% in 2020. This is a clear call to action: we must change this reality, now.
Investment Gaps for Women – Numbers You Can’t Ignore
Female entrepreneurs continue to face significant challenges in raising capital. In 2024, companies with at least one female founder raised $45.3 billion, but this figure is misleading – $9.2 billion of that amount was invested exclusively in Anthropic, where one of the seven founders is Daniela Amodie. If we subtract this investment, only $36.1 billion was allocated to female entrepreneurs out of a total of $209 billion in venture capital investments. This is a figure that illustrates how long the road still is.
Why Don’t Women Invest in Women?
Although research shows that women-led companies generate 35% higher returns compared to male-led companies, many investors still prefer to invest in founders who resemble them – namely, men. One issue is that even women invest less in women. Many are risk-averse and prefer to invest in already proven models, while investing in women is still seen as an outlier. When investors rarely meet women leading companies, it’s difficult for them to see them as groundbreaking entrepreneurs.
Bringing Women Back to the Forefront
While tech giants fight for the brightest minds in AI, women like Fei-Fei Li, known as the “godmother of artificial intelligence,” have managed to establish groundbreaking companies like World Labs, which became a unicorn in just four months. Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, is also seen as an entrepreneur who will change the field. But these are the exceptions, while the reality for most women founders is becoming more challenging.
“Women Fund Women” – An Initiative for Change
To address these challenges, we launched the “Women Funding Women” initiative – a groundbreaking project led by ICI Fund, RUNI Ventures, VCAcademy, and Calcalist. In this initiative, an Israeli female entrepreneur will be selected to receive an investment of one million dollars. This is a significant opportunity to change the reality and ensure that women play a central role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
Although over 70 projects have registered, we aim to see many more women entrepreneurs joining. Additionally, many women who participated in the VCAcademy program will be able to join the investment in the selected project, continuing to support groundbreaking female entrepreneurship. The deadline for applications is February 4, 2025.
A Call to Female Entrepreneurs – Now Is the Time
My journey as an investor and managing partner of a venture capital fund has been full of challenges. When I decided to establish my fund in the U.S., I faced skepticism, distrust, and sometimes even open opposition. I was often the only woman at events, surrounded by male investors. I was frequently asked how I could manage a fund and be a mother simultaneously – a question that was never directed at a man. Women were reluctant to invest in me, not because the model wasn’t strong, but because historically, women haven’t seen themselves as investors in venture capital funds, let alone investors in women, who are considered a statistically riskier investment. In my first fund, out of all the investors, only one was a woman. Even in my second fund, which I am currently raising, only 10% of the investors are women.
Today, I invest through my second fund and support groundbreaking Israeli companies. Out of the 10 companies I’ve invested in, 9 are led by women. I believe change is possible – but it won’t happen on its own. I know the next generation of women entrepreneurs can succeed if they receive the right support, and I’m here to make sure that happens.
Women must take the place they deserve – not only as entrepreneurs but also as leaders of the next generation of AI technologies. If we don’t ensure that women are at the forefront of innovation, we risk having the future built without us. We must ensure that women not only create groundbreaking AI companies but also play a role in decision-making that will influence the future of humanity.
The revolution is already here – are you a part of it?
Especially on this emotional day of the release of the hostages, I call on all Israeli women who have founded an AI-based startup – now is the time to dare, lead, and be part of the change. Opportunities exist, but only those who apply and take initiative will be able to seize them.
Change will not happen on its own – we need to create it together, because the future of technology is the future of all of us, and women must be at the forefront of this revolution.
Gili Elkin is the founder and partner at ICI Fund, an American fund investing in Israeli startups with artificial intelligence solutions that improve the future.
