Israeli agritech innovation attracts Australian investors

Some Australian venture capitalists are eyeing Israeli agritech, climate and energy businesses as potentially lucrative investment opportunities, despite the ongoing war in the Middle East. Agritech, in particular, is attracting interest because of its potential role in biofuels and the emerging low-carbon liquid fuel sector.

David Solsky, operating partner at Australian venture capital firm Bandera Capital, said he remains upbeat about Israel’s investment potential.

“Agritech has a big role in biofuels and the emerging low-carbon liquid fuel sector. I think those kinds of companies would be interesting for Australia," Solsky said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. He explained why he remains upbeat about Israel’s investment potential despite the war in the Middle East.

“Despite the war and some of the challenges that Israelis face, the economy has continued to be strong. That Israel is the Start-Up Nation and the Scale-Up Nation keeps getting validated even over the past few years,” he said.

Solsky said many Australian Jews expressed interest in supporting and investing in Israel following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack. In 2024, Bandera Capital and Foxglobe Capital established Next76, a joint venture focused on Israeli technology companies.

“We started to look at how we could ultimately invest in Israel, and we think climate and energy transition are particularly relevant verticals,” he said. “It is a relatively small market compared to cyber, defense and some of the other traditional verticals. But we have expertise in this area and … we figured if we made investments in this area, we could keep them moving forward.”

Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment have increased in Australia since the Oct. 7 attack, while 15 Jews were murdered at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December 2025. Solsky was asked whether these developments could affect Australian investors’ willingness to do business with Israeli technology companies.

“I think what you're seeing is a lot of noise from a relatively small part of Australian society, and there are a lot of companies and individuals and investors that have been to Israel or who get the Israeli startup nation story, and I think will come along on this investment journey,” Solsky said. “I believe Australia is a market that is very conducive and open-minded to doing business with Jews.”

Australian Jewry constitutes a small but established community of around 110,000 people in a country of approximately 28 million. Solsky said Australian Jews are “deeply entrenched in all aspects of corporate and professional life, adding that it's “an affluent community with significant investment potential.”

Australia and Israel have historically maintained friendly diplomatic relations, but those ties have deteriorated since the Oct. 7 attack, as the Australian government increasingly criticized Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

In September 2025, Australia joined the United Kingdom, France and Canada in recognizing a “Palestinian state,” despite strong opposition from Jerusalem and Washington. Israel has also criticized the Australian government for failing to do enough to combat rising antisemitism.