# Awz Ventures Inc.

> Awz Ventures Inc. is a VC fund in Toronto backing Cyber Security and Software. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Toronto, Canada
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Oct 2025
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hlsfund/
- Website: http://www.hlsfund.com/

Awz Ventures Inc. is a VC fund in Toronto focused on Cyber Security and Software. Awz HLS Investment Fund I LP is a Canadian pioneering Homeland Security technology venture capital fund. Awz HLS Fund invests in emerging and growing Israeli companies that have developed leading-edge cyber security, intelligence, or physical security technologies from Israel, a global leader in these sectors.Awz HLS Fund’s executives andadvisors are among the most senior experts in this space on a global scale, with the ability to recruit the most promising investment opportunities based on their vast networks and experience in Israel.Awz HLS Fund's experienced and passionate team includes former senior executives from Canadian and Israeli intelligence and security agencies (Mossad and ISA), and global business and financial experts.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Awz Ventures Inc.. Shizune tracks 2 team members at Awz Ventures Inc.. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/awz-ventures?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $10M–$26M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cyber Security | 3 | 50% |
| Software | 2 | 33% |
| SaaS | 1 | 17% |
| Privacy | 1 | 17% |
| Railroad | 1 | 17% |

19 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 3 | 50% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 33% |
| Series A | 1 | 17% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Israel | 4 | 67% |
| United States | 1 | 17% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Yaron Ashkenazi | Founder and Managing Partner | 14 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/yaron-ashkenazi |
| Jonathan Karten | Principal \| M&A, Capital Strategy | 16 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jonathan-karten |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CyberRidge | CyberRidge is a deep-tech cybersecurity firm that develops photonic encryption to protect data privacy. | $10M | Seed | Oct 28, 2025 |  |
| conbo.ai | CONBO powers the data-generation layer for modern logistics. Our patented computer vision turns existing cameras into a facility-wide tracking and intelligence system, dramatically reducing manual scanning and minimizing inventory loss, damages, and safety incidents. Entirely software-based and instantly scalable, CONBO is built for efficient,safe, and high-performance operations. |  | Seed | Dec 01, 2023 |  |
| Cervello | Designed specifically to protect the unique needs of railways, Cervello’s railway-centered security solution passively integrates with the railway’s complex architecture and networks and applies a patented Zero-Trust authentication technology to provide unparalleled visibility, safety, and security threat detection, and efficient remediation foroperational continuity. https://cervello.security | $15.5M | Series A | Nov 01, 2023 |  |
| NewPhotonics | At NewPhotonics, we specialize in designing innovative Photonics Engines that revolutionize the capabilities of optical communications in data centers, significantly reducing power consumption while improving reliability and eliminating data rate bottlenecks for compute and AI workloads. With a focus on developing Photonic Integrated Circuits(PICs) and optical modules, we continuously push the boundaries of photonics technology. Our unwavering commitment lies in driving innovation within this rapidly evolving field. Join us on our journey as we seek dedicated and highly skilled professionals to contribute to our exciting work | $26M | Seed | Sep 01, 2021 |  |
| Cervello | Designed specifically to protect the unique needs of railways, Cervello’s railway-centered security solution passively integrates with the railway’s complex architecture and networks and applies a patented Zero-Trust authentication technology to provide unparalleled visibility, safety, and security threat detection, and efficient remediation foroperational continuity. https://cervello.security | $15M |  | Aug 01, 2021 |  |
| NanoLock Security Ltd | NanoLock zero-trust, device-level protection and management secure IoT, OT and connected devices against outsiders, insiders and supply chain cyber events and even human errors, including billions of devices that other technologies cannot protect. Our lifetime protection and management solution takes zero-trust to the device-level with an ironcladprotection, secured and managed firmware updates, reliable status and alerts and unique forensic data. NanoLock’s zero-trust protection is mandatory to critical infrastructures, such as industrial companies and utilities that are looking to ensure the operational integrity of their devices, maintain business continuity and protect revenues. NanoLock secures connected devices like smart meters, industrial machines, smart lighting, gateways, data concentrators, and many more, against a wide range of persistent attacks, including ransomware, fraud, theft, bricking and the like. NanoLock is working with major utilities, industrial companies and large ecosystem partners in Japan, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, India, Singapore, US and Israel. NanoLock Security is the winner of multiple industry awards¸ including the prestigious “2021 Top 10 for Baby Black Unicorns”, Tracxn’s “Emerging Startups 2021- minicorn“, 4YFN Barcelona Startup of the Year” award, the American Cyber Award for “Best Security Company of the Year under 150 staff” and the CyberSecurity breakthrough award for the “Overall IoT Security Solution provider of the Year”. NanoLock’s team of cybersecurity veterans combines business strategy and cyber security expertise. NanoLock is headquartered in Israel with offices in the US, Europe and Japan. | $5M |  | Mar 31, 2017 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [North First Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/north-first-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Shikun & Binui](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/shikun-binui) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Arkin Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/arkin-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [ATOORO FUND](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/atooro-fund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Elron Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/elron-electronic-industries) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [European Commission](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/european-commission) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does Awz Ventures Inc. invest in?

Awz Ventures Inc. invests primarily in Cyber Security, Software and SaaS startups, most often at Seed and Funding Round stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Israel. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Awz Ventures Inc.'s check size?

Awz Ventures Inc. typically joins rounds of $10M–$26M at Seed. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Awz Ventures Inc. participates in.

### How do I contact Awz Ventures Inc.?

Public channels for Awz Ventures Inc. include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Awz Ventures Inc.?

The team at Awz Ventures Inc. includes Yaron Ashkenazi (Founder and Managing Partner) and Jonathan Karten (Principal | M&A, Capital Strategy). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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