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Dovi Frances
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Dov "Dovi" Frances (Hebrew: דובי פרנסס; born November 20, 1978) is an Israeli-American[1] venture capitalist Los Angeles[2] and television personality.[3] He founded Group 11, a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm[4] that has deployed over $660 million.[5] Since 2018,[6] Frances has appeared on the Israeli version of Shark Tank, called "HaKrishim".[7]
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Early life and career
Frances was born in Holon, Israel, where he grew up in a working-class family. His father worked as a customs agent before establishing Holon Motors,[8] a car dealership business.[3] During his mandatory military service, Frances served as a company commander at Bahad 1, the Israeli Defense Forces' Officers Academy.[9]
Frances earned a dual bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Psychology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.[10] He then moved to the United States,[11] where he completed an MBA in Finance and Marketing from UCLA[12] Anderson School of Management in 2008.[8] After graduating, Frances joined Deutsche Bank in New York as a private wealth manager for high-net-worth clients. In 2011, Russian billionaire Sergey Grishin recruited him to manage investments at SG,[11] a financial advisory company. Frances established a venture capital fund called "SGVC"[13] under the SG umbrella in 2012.[14]
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Group 11
In May 2015, Frances purchased the SGVC venture capital fund[15] from Grishin and renamed it Group 11. The firm has deployed over $660 million across multiple funds.[5]
In June 2024, research firm Preqin ranked Group 11 first among U.S. venture capital funds for performance.[16] The same year, HEC Paris-DowJones ranked the firm third globally among venture capital funds.[17]
Group 11[18] has invested[4] in seven companies that achieved unicorn[19] status.[5] The portfolio includes Tipalti (valued at $8.3 billion), Navan (valued at $9.2 billion),[20] and Next Insurance, which was acquired for $2.6 billion in 2025.[21] Other investments include HomeLight, Sunbit (valued at $1.1 billion),[22] Dream Security, Masterschool, AeroPay, BridgeWise, Healthee, and Venn.
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Television career
Frances joined "HaKrishim" (The Sharks), the Israeli version of Shark Tank, when it premiered on February 20, 2018, on Channel 12.[23] He appeared as an investor for four seasons before stepping down[1] to focus on artificial intelligence policy work.[7]
Personal life
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Frances is married to Roni Eshel, a former Israeli surfing champion,[3] and they have three children. The family lives in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[1]
In 2014, Frances facilitated a $201 million life insurance policy, recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest individual policy.[24]
In 2023, Frances received an award from the Israeli American Council and Israeli Consulate for outstanding achievements in technology and strengthening U.S.-Israel relations.[25] In 2024, he received the Ben-Gurion Award for contributions to Israel's economy, technological innovation, and support of the Negev region.[10] His investment views have been covered in Business Insider,[26] WSJ,[27] TechCrunch,[28] and Globes.[29]
In November 2024, Frances was appointed as a temporary advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on artificial intelligence matters.[30] He serves on the Board of Governors of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and co-founded The Institute, an AI research center at the university.[31] Frances also serves on the Steering Committee of the ICON Israel Collaboration Network.[32]
In 2024, he published "Introduction to Victory" (מבוא לניצחון) through Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir publishing house[1].The book became a best-seller[33] and he announced plans to distribute 14,000 copies to injured Israeli soldiers.[34]
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References
External links
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