Verizon confirmed to Light Reading that it has shuttered its Verizon Ventures offices in Israel.

"Verizon Ventures announced that it is modifying its investment strategy to further support Verizon's overall growth strategy, with a primary focus and emphasis in the US. As a result, a few positions currently based in Israel will be redirected to the US," Kim Ancin, of Verizon Ventures, wrote in response to questions from Light Reading. "Israel is our only international Ventures office and this move will not impact existing investments in Verizon Ventures portfolio companies. We will continue to invest globally, leveraging our US based team, similar to what we have done in all other geographies."

Figure 1: (Source: Kristoffer Tripplaar/Alamy Stock Photo)

Some of the Verizon executives in Israel discussed the move on LinkedIn. "It is with great sadness that I announce the closing of the Verizon Ventures office in Israel," wrote Managing Director Tammy Mahn on the site.

"Verizon Ventures invested in 13 Israeli startups during its 5 years of operations in Israel, 4 of which have already had successful exits. It has been an honour to be a part of this process, and to contribute to the growth and success of our portfolio companies," added Eyal Mamistvalov, a principal at the office.

As noted by CTech, Verizon Ventures in Israel had invested in a number of companies, including Cellwize (acquired by Qualcomm last year), Vdoo (acquired by JFrog in 2021) and Iguazio (acquired by McKinsey earlier this year).

To be clear, Verizon isn't the only big US wireless network operator to engage in venture capital investments. For example, T-Mobile announced its T-Mobile Ventures operation in 2020, while AT&T in 2017 committed $200 million toward startups.

Broadly, the companies hope to encourage startups to develop an ecosystem around their networks, thus generating more demand for their offerings. However, operators globally have generally agreed that the 5G market hasn't grown as quickly as they hoped.

Verizon officials, for example, recently acknowledged that some of the company's bets into private wireless networking and edge computing haven't met company expectations. As a result, Verizon's CEO recently announced a management shakeup designed to encourage growth.

Some analysts have expressed concerns over Verizon's latest management overhaul. "What is going on at Verizon?" wondered the financial analysts at Wolfe Research in a recent note to investors. They pointed out that the company's new consumer chief has no experience selling products and services to consumers, and that the company's CFO is departing without a permanent replacement in the wings.

"We weren't shocked to see Verizon make some management changes last week," added the financial analysts at Wells Fargo in a note to investors this weekend. "What's less clear is what exactly will change with this 'next-generation' leadership."

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano