Aviv Nizri · Principal, ICI Fund

Make ripples. Leave roots.

I back bold, scientific founders building deep tech that will define the next decade. Innovation that runs deep enough to outlast every hype cycle and change how whole industries work.

Pitch me → Read the thesis

About r₀

Hi, I'm Aviv.

I'm a Principal at ICI Fund (Innovation. Community. Intelligence.), an American early-stage fund investing in Israeli-founded deep-tech and AI startups.

Before investing, I built. I'm an alumnus of Unit 81, the elite technology unit of Israel's Intelligence Corps, and I founded DriveSense.ai, a deep-tech startup. I hold a B.Sc. in Computer Science. I know what it takes to turn hard technology into a company, because I've done it.

At the fund I work across the whole investment cycle: sourcing and first meetings, technical and market diligence, investment committee, and hands-on support once we're in. Outside it I advise early-stage founders on fundraising and go-to-market, and connect people across the Israeli and US tech ecosystems.

I'm curious by nature and a tech enthusiast at heart. I'm structured and direct, and I'd rather give a founder a clear answer quickly than a vague one slowly.

∴ Unit 81Intelligence Corps, technology
⌁ FounderDriveSense.ai
λ B.Sc.Computer Science

Thesis Δt

The ten-year question

Most of venture asks why now. It is a good question about timing. I think a better one is about consequence: if this works, what does the world look like in ten years, and what did this team have to change to get there?

The founders I back are not riding a trend. They work on problems that look too hard, too early or too scientific for most investors. In my experience, that is where the deepest change starts.

What they share is vision. They are building something that truly matters, driven by a mission greater than themselves.

∂ stack

Deep in the stack

Infrastructure over interfaces. Technology that becomes structural and compounds over time.

∫ science

Scientists who build

New teams and research-driven founders with real domain depth, and the nerve to attempt what others call impossible.

∮ mission

Built to matter

Founders with a purpose bigger than a company. Vision is what carries a team through the hard years.

∑ people

People over decks

When conviction in the team is strong, technical and market risk become risks worth taking.

Frontiers ∇

Where I look

Deep tech, where a breakthrough changes the whole system.

∇ · FLOP/s

AI infrastructure

The compute, data and decision layers that applied AI will run on.

DoF · τ = r × F

Physical AI & robotics

Machines that perceive, reason and act in the physical world.

nm · |ψ⟩

Semiconductors & quantum

Chips, photonics and quantum systems: the hardware the next era of computing runs on.

kWh · η

Critical industries & energy

Technology for the grids, plants and supply chains that keep everything else running.

0x · SHA-256

Cybersecurity

Paradigm shifts beyond the crowded core of security. New foundations built on deep, structural changes in how systems are trusted and defended.

C4ISR · dual-use

Defense & security

Technology for national security that also scales into commercial markets.

LEO · Δv

Space

Launch, orbital infrastructure and the systems that turn space into an industry.

∞ · ?

Something new

Deep tech that does not fit a category yet. Those are often the best conversations.

Practice ∫ dt

How I work with founders

t₀ · Invest

Pre-seed & seed

Israeli-founded companies with global ambition, usually built for the US market. Early, concentrated, and led by conviction in the team.

Σ · Build

Alongside the team

From the first meeting through diligence and the term sheet, then the long work after: fundraising strategy, positioning, early go-to-market and introductions.

⇄ · Bridge

Israel to the US

Helping technical teams understand US enterprise buyers, pilots, procurement cycles and what real adoption takes.

ƒ(x) · Tools

Better instruments

I build AI-powered tools for venture work. Better decisions need better instruments, in investing as in science.

Fellow investors ⊕

Fellow investors are always welcome.

Founders win when their investors work together. Joint support, warm introductions and an aligned cap table give a company more than any single check can.

If you back deep tech, as a VC or an angel, I'd be glad to co-invest and support our founders side by side. Collaboration is part of the legacy we leave.

⊕Co-invest

∑Support founders

∪Open networks

Next generation n + 1

The founders of tomorrow are educated today.

I believe in the next generation of entrepreneurs. Education is the earliest-stage investment there is, and it is how the present shapes the decade ahead.

That is why I take part in education initiatives on AI and entrepreneurship, mentor young builders, and open doors for them across the Israeli and US ecosystems.

Learn more →

Contact ⟨ψ|

Building something that truly matters?

Founders and fellow investors alike: send a short note, and a deck if you have one. I'd like to hear what you're working on.

aviv@ici.fund

Email → LinkedIn ↗ X ↗