With $71 Million Raised: Israeli Tech Prodigy Unveils New Robotics Startup

Israeli robotics startup Enigma has been revealed after raising $71 million in a seed round led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, just ten months after its founding. The company develops AI models for smart robots and employs 25 people in Tel Aviv. Founders Yehonatan Yakobi and Gal Niv are graduates of Unit 8200.

Israeli robotics startup Enigma was unveiled today (Monday) for the first time after completing a $71 million seed round—just ten months after its founding. The round was led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Conviction Partners, which made its first investment in Israel through this round, and additional investors from Silicon Valley. Among the investors are Assaf Rappaport and Merav Bahat, who invested both privately and through the new fund Stardust. The round also included founders and executives from AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Thinking Machines, Cognition, and Mercor. Enigma was founded by Yehonatan Yakobi (CEO) and Gal Niv (CTO), who met during their service in Unit 8200. The company currently employs 25 people in Tel Aviv and works with partners in retail, healthcare, and industry. The company develops AI models for smart robots, including three components: foundation models for Physical AI, a hardware-agnostic software layer, and new human-robot interfaces. It has also developed new approaches to model training that reduce the need for massive data collection from the physical world. The funds will be used to expand research and engineering teams, increase computing infrastructure and GPU capabilities, and accelerate software layer development. Yakobi is considered a prodigy, having started his degree at age 13 and becoming the youngest employee in the history of Check Point and Microsoft. Later today, the company will launch a first-of-its-kind public experience, available online, allowing real-time interaction with robots.