# Avi Eyal
Avi Eyal (Aviad Eyal) is an Israeli venture capital investor, cofounder and Managing Partner of Entrée Capital in [Tel Aviv](https://www.edgepedia.org/tel-aviv), best known as one of the earliest backers of monday.com and as the first Israeli investor to top the Forbes Midas List Europe, in 2023.[1](https://entreecap.com/we) • [2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2023/11/29/this-israeli-vc-claimed-the-crown-as-europes-best-investor/) Entrée Capital, which he founded in 2009 after two decades as a serial entrepreneur in the US, UK, and South Africa, manages over $1.5 billion and has backed more than 180 startups.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Cofounder and Managing Partner, Entrée Capital (Tel Aviv), founded 2009[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) |
| Firm scale | Over $1.5bn managed, 180+ startups, 45 exits, 7 IPOs[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) • [1](https://entreecap.com/we) |
| Signature deal | monday.com: $15m invested, self-reported $1.5bn distributed[4](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/avi-eyal) |
| Other led investments | Coupang, Stripe, Riskified, PillPack, Glovo, Deliveroo, Prospa, Breezometer, Weavy, Empathy[1](https://entreecap.com/we) |
| Education | B.Sc. Electrical Engineering, University of Natal (South Africa)[1](https://entreecap.com/we) |
| Midas List | Europe #23 (2018), #12 (2019), #1 (2023); global list #16 (2025)[5](https://milkeninstitute.org/events/middle-east-and-africa-summit-2020/speakers/avi-eyal) • [2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2023/11/29/this-israeli-vc-claimed-the-crown-as-europes-best-investor/) • [1](https://entreecap.com/we) |
| Boards | monday.com (since June 2014), Prospa (since 2017), BlueWhite Robotics (since 2019), Rivery (since 2021), SpaceIL, One Heart[6](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/aviad-eyal-ecv-il-manco-limited/24215574) • [1](https://entreecap.com/we) |
| Earlier career | Cofounder of Cura Software, Insight Technologies, and ZenProp; founded GPS as a student[1](https://entreecap.com/we) • [7](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894904,00.html) |
## Early life and education
Eyal was born in Israel to what he describes as "a very average Israeli family." When he was six, his father took a role as an engineer in South Africa, and Eyal grew up there.[7](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894904,00.html)
To put himself through university, where he studied software and electrical engineering at the University of Natal, he founded a software company called Great Programming Solutions (GPS). By the time he finished his degree it had 50 or 60 employees; two years later it merged into an IPO in South Africa and London. He then moved to the United States to pursue startups.[7](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894904,00.html)
## Career and Entrée Capital
Before founding Entrée Capital, Eyal spent two decades as a serial entrepreneur in the US, UK, and South Africa, cofounding Cura Software, Insight Technologies, and ZenProp.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) • [1](https://entreecap.com/we) He founded Entrée Capital in 2009 in Tel Aviv.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/)
The firm's growth has been substantial. As of 2020 it managed over $400 million, with investments including Stripe, Stash, SeatGeek, Prospa, Gusto, Glovo, Riskified, and monday.com.[5](https://milkeninstitute.org/events/middle-east-and-africa-summit-2020/speakers/avi-eyal) By the mid-2020s, the firm's own site states it manages $1.5 billion and has invested in over 180 startups;[1](https://entreecap.com/we) Forbes credits it with 45 exits and 7 IPOs.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) Equilar, drawing on filings, records Eyal as Managing Partner since 2011, while Forbes and the firm describe him as a cofounder from the firm's 2009 founding; the sources do not reconcile the dates.[6](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/aviad-eyal-ecv-il-manco-limited/24215574) • [3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/)
## Notable investments and exits
**monday.com** is the deal that defines his record. In 2015 Eyal made a wager with monday.com cofounder [Eran Zinman](https://www.edgepedia.org/eran-zinman): build a barebones project management mobile app immediately, and if it failed, Eyal would pick up a $50,000 tab. Eight years later, in Forbes' November 2023 feature, monday.com was valued at $8.2 billion with 8 million iOS app downloads.[2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2023/11/29/this-israeli-vc-claimed-the-crown-as-europes-best-investor/) He has been an independent director of monday.com since June 2014, before the product existed in its current form.[6](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/aviad-eyal-ecv-il-manco-limited/24215574) The company went public in 2021; its market cap was approximately $3.9 billion at the time of his current Forbes profile.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) CTech describes monday.com as Entrée's largest and most successful investment, generating more than $1 billion in returns for the fund.[8](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/syqdfpwugg) On the 20VC podcast, Eyal said Entrée's $15 million investment was distributed as $1.5 billion in cash, and that one of the firm's $45 million funds achieved 37x DPI (distributions to paid-in capital, a measure of cash actually returned). He also said a Series A lead dropping out of monday.com led to a $250 million gain for the firm.[4](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/avi-eyal)
His other led investments span consumer, fintech, and enterprise software.[1](https://entreecap.com/we) Coupang had a market cap of about $28 billion as of May 2026, and delivery company [Glovo](https://www.edgepedia.org/glovo) was acquired for about $2.6 billion by [Delivery Hero](https://www.edgepedia.org/delivery-hero) in 2022.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) By his own account, he made $15 million from PillPack's acquisition by Amazon and has since sold his entire Stripe position.[4](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/avi-eyal) The firm's portfolio page lists monday.com, [Riskified](https://www.edgepedia.org/riskified) (NYSE:RSKD), Coupang (NYSE:CPNG), PillPack, Prospa (ASX:PGL), Breezometer (acquired by Google), Deliveroo (LON:ROO), Weavy (acquired by Figma), Empathy, and Stripe among investments he led.[1](https://entreecap.com/we)
## Boards and public positions
Equilar records his monday.com directorship since June 2014, board service at Prospa Group (ASX:PGL) since 2017, BlueWhite Robotics since 2019, and Rivery since 2021.[6](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/aviad-eyal-ecv-il-manco-limited/24215574) A 2020 Milken Institute bio also listed Gastrofix, AdHawk, Breezometer, and Obligo, plus Limited Partner Advisory Committees of several venture funds.[5](https://milkeninstitute.org/events/middle-east-and-africa-summit-2020/speakers/avi-eyal) He serves on the boards of SpaceIL, an Israeli NGO that has sought to land a spacecraft on the Moon, and [One Heart](https://www.edgepedia.org/one-heart) (Lev Ehad), a global all-volunteer emergency response NGO, and he cofounded SigmaLabs, a non-profit accelerator for young founders.[1](https://entreecap.com/we)
On strategy, Eyal has argued publicly that founders should not raise large seed or pre-seed rounds before validating what they are building, and he has described a three-step process for selling positions in winners.[4](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/avi-eyal)
## Recognition
Eyal was listed at #23 on the Forbes Europe VC Midas List in 2018 and #12 in 2019.[5](https://milkeninstitute.org/events/middle-east-and-africa-summit-2020/speakers/avi-eyal) In November 2023 he was ranked #1 on the Midas List Europe, the ranking of leading venture investors in Europe and the Middle East, the first time an Israeli investor topped it; Forbes cited monday.com, Coupang, Stripe, and Glovo.[2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2023/11/29/this-israeli-vc-claimed-the-crown-as-europes-best-investor/) The firm's site places him at #16 on the global Forbes Midas List in 2025.[1](https://entreecap.com/we) He received the Johnnie Walker Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2010.[5](https://milkeninstitute.org/events/middle-east-and-africa-summit-2020/speakers/avi-eyal)
## Controversies
Eyal drew public attention in 2025 when monday.com, where he is a director, sought shareholder approval to more than double the annual compensation of co-CEOs [Roy Mann](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-mann) and Eran Zinman to $14 million, days after announcing layoffs of 620 employees, including 350 in Israel. Eyal defended how the company handled the layoffs while citing legal restrictions on the compensation vote.[8](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/syqdfpwugg)
## Recent developments
Several things moved after his Midas Europe win. Eyal said that after the war he became much more involved in security-related activities and now invests more in defense tech, looking for large platforms rather than niche products.[8](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/syqdfpwugg) Weavy, a portfolio company, was acquired by Figma.[1](https://entreecap.com/we) Coupang stood at roughly a $28 billion market cap as of May 2026, while monday.com's market cap in his current Forbes profile, about $3.9 billion, sits well below the $8.2 billion valuation Forbes cited in 2023, reflecting the stock's movement since the IPO-era peak.[3](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/) • [2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2023/11/29/this-israeli-vc-claimed-the-crown-as-europes-best-investor/)
## References
1. [About — Entrée Capital](https://entreecap.com/we)
2. [An Israeli VC Was Crowned Best Investor In Europe And The Middle East For The First Time — Forbes, 2023](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2023/11/29/this-israeli-vc-claimed-the-crown-as-europes-best-investor/)
3. [Avi Eyal — Forbes profile](https://www.forbes.com/profile/avi-eyal/)
4. [20VC: Turning a $15M Investment in Monday into $1.5BN in Cash — Avi Eyal](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/avi-eyal)
5. [Avi Eyal — Milken Institute speaker bio](https://milkeninstitute.org/events/middle-east-and-africa-summit-2020/speakers/avi-eyal)
6. [Aviad Eyal — Equilar ExecAtlas](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/aviad-eyal-ecv-il-manco-limited/24215574)
7. ['My passion is growing businesses, growing founders' — CTech interview](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3894904,00.html)
8. ['Monday handled the layoffs in the best possible way': Entrée Capital's Avi Eyal defends monday.com — CTech/Calcalist](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/syqdfpwugg)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Founders, operators, and investors › Venture and growth investors › Israel, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America venture*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license