Jon Medved, a towering figure in Israel's venture capital scene and founder of OurCrowd, is facing a deeply personal challenge: a recent diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The irony is profound, as Medved, who spent years backing health tech startups, now finds himself relying on the very innovations he championed to enhance his own quality of life. His retirement announcement in October sent ripples through Israel's close-knit "Startup Nation" community.
In what he believes could be his final public interview, Medved spoke to TechCrunch, his voice audibly hoarse—a tell-tale symptom of ALS. "This has come rather sudden," he shared, recounting weeks in the hospital before receiving the devastating diagnosis. "I had been feeling a little weird before and they didn’t know what was ailing me... they tested me and said, ‘You’ve got ALS,’ which is a horrible disease, the worst you can imagine.”
ALS progressively degrades the brain's motor neurons, leading to a loss of muscle control that eventually impairs walking, talking, eating, and breathing. Medved noted his symptoms were atypical, with his voice affected first rather than his extremities. While there is no cure, only therapies, he acknowledges the condition will inevitably worsen.
Medved's Legacy and OurCrowd's Innovative Model
Medved's influence on Israel's tech landscape is immense. Often hailed as one of the "fathers" of the "Startup Nation"—a moniker popularized by the decades-old best-selling book of the same name—he moved from California to Israel in his twenties, founded and sold multiple tech companies, and then transitioned into venture investing.
In 2013, he founded OurCrowd, a firm that revolutionized venture capital by pioneering a crowdsourced model. While Israel boasts many powerful home-grown VC firms and branches of global players, OurCrowd opened its limited partnerships to any accredited investor globally. This innovative approach democratized access to wealth generation typically reserved for institutional investors, attracting a diverse pool of 240,000 accredited LPs across 195 countries, including doctors, lawyers, and other individuals.
OurCrowd's impressive portfolio includes notable names like Anthropic, Beyond Meat, and Lemonade. Medved proudly states the firm is now a "significant player," having backed approximately 500 companies with 74 exits, including the recent $525 million sale of infrastructure planning startup Locusview to Itron.
Resilience of the "Startup Nation"
Even amidst the ongoing conflict with Gaza, which has drawn global attention to the Palestinian humanitarian crisis and deeply impacted its citizens, Israel's startup ecosystem has demonstrated remarkable resilience. As the "Startup Nation," Israel remains a powerhouse in cybersecurity and defense tech, as well as AI, microchips, enterprise software, food tech, and health tech—covering the entire tech stack. Medved highlighted this strength, noting an "$800 million invested in the Israeli venture ecosystem in one week" in November. The country now boasts nearly 100 unicorns, with an estimated $15 billion to $16 billion invested in venture deals over the past year.
Personalizing Technology: AI Avatars and Health Solutions
Now, the very technologies Medved championed are poised to assist him in navigating life with an incurable condition. He has commissioned a "digital twin"—an AI-powered avatar designed to preserve his voice, face, and mannerisms. This groundbreaking system was developed through a collaboration involving OurCrowd AI portfolio company D-ID (a creator of agents and avatars), voice AI startup ElevenLabs, and other partners via the ALS-focused Scott-Morgan Foundation.
Medved recently experienced this technology firsthand during a Zoom call with another ALS patient who was using an avatar to communicate. "This stuff has become very, very personal to me," Medved shared, emphasizing its importance: "It will preserve my voice when it goes."
Beyond the avatar technology, Medved plans to leverage a diverse array of health tech solutions from OurCrowd's portfolio. "We’ve made 60, 70 healthcare investments in good companies that help people," he noted. He specifically mentioned OncoHost, an AI-driven company that assists in selecting effective immunotherapies, as well as firms specializing in next-generation genome sequencing and chronic condition management.
A Resolute Future
Medved reflected on his changed perspective: "I tell you now as a once-healthy person [who took health for granted] I felt human pain and disease, but once you are actually engaged in one of these nasty diseases, it changes your perspective."
Despite stepping down from OurCrowd and potentially retreating from the public eye, Medved remains resolute. "I’m far from over, ok? I want to continue to contribute, both to OurCrowd and the overall ecosystem. So I fully intend to not go off [quietly] into this good night.” He concluded by expressing pride in OurCrowd's role: "I’m very proud that in a small way, even though all we are is investors, to be part of this movement.”
A compelling video showcasing Medved's "digital twin" underscores the advanced realism of his AI avatar.
