Kela came out of stealth in March this year with a mission to equip Western militaries with a software platform designed to facilitate the adoption and integration of commercial technologies such as tablets, sensors and radars into existing military systems.<\/p>\n
The defense tech startup was founded in July 2024 by Meridor, who also serves as president, alongside CEO Alon Dror, serial entrepreneur and engineer Omer Bar-Ilan and aeronautical engineer Jason Manne.<\/p>\n
\t Illustrative: A Rafael laser interceptor system, in a handout photo issued by the defense firm on June 4, 2025. (Rafael Advanced Defense Systems)<\/p>\n Meridor is a veteran of the IDF\u2019s intelligence Unit 8200, a former partner at the Israeli tech fund, Vintage Investment Partners, and previously served as the Israel head of US data analysis company Palantir.<\/p>\n Dror graduated from the army\u2019s prestigious Talpiot training program, and then served in the defense establishment for over a decade \u2014 first as a tank commander and then at Mafat (Israel\u2019s Directorate of Defense R&D), where he won the Israel Defense Prize.<\/p>\n Manne has 10 years of experience in weapons development for the Israeli Air Force, and Bar-Ilan is the former head of algorithm development at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the startup raised funds from two US venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Lux Capital, alongside IQT, the US Central Intelligence Agency\u2019s investment arm.<\/p>\n The founders\u2019 vision is to convert Israel into a defense tech hub for Western militaries. Kela said it is gearing up to apply and compete for defense contracts in the US and by Western militaries in Europe, to expand the platform\u2019s deployment.<\/p>\n The expansion plans come as some European governments are canceling arms deals with major Israeli defense contractors, including Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, due to growing criticism over the country\u2019s conduct during the ongoing war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.<\/p>\n
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