Two Israeli universities secure spots in global top 10 for entrepreneurs

Other Israeli institutions included in the top 100 were Hebrew University of Jerusalem (30), Reichman University (47), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (52), and Bar-Ilan University (90).

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Tel Aviv University and the Technion placed in the top 10 in the ranking of leading universities for entrepreneurs in the Pitchbook 2025 index released on Wednesday.

The U.S. was the only other country with more than one university in the top ten of the prestigious rankings.

Tel Aviv University ranked alongside Stanford and MIT, with its graduates founding 736 startups that raised $30 billion.

Among them are Next Insurance, sold this year for $2.5 billion, and Lendbuzz, which has filed for an IPO after topping $1 billion in funding.

“The fact that PitchBook ranks us at the top year after year is the best proof of our academic excellence and leadership in creating a generation of entrepreneurs,” said Prof. Moshe Zviran, the university’s entrepreneurship chief.

The Technion, based in Haifa, made its debut in the global top ten, credited with more than 1,300 alumni launching over 1,000 ventures and attracting $43 billion in capital.

“Technion alumni are the main economic engine of the State of Israel,” said university president Prof. Uri Sivan, noting new initiatives such as its innovation hub and commercialization arm.

Other Israeli institutions included in the top 100 were Hebrew University of Jerusalem (30), Reichman University (47), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (52), and Bar-Ilan University (90).

The University of California, Berkeley, was PitchBook’s top-ranked institution.

PitchBook Data provides research and technology on private capital markets, including venture capital, private equity, and M\&A. The rankings were based on an analysis of more than 173,000 VC-backed founders and PitchBook data.