Former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen Promoted to Strategic Advisor at SoftBank Investment Fund

Yossi Cohen, the former head of Israel's Mossad, has been promoted within the Japanese investment giant SoftBank to the role of strategic advisor. Cohen, who joined SoftBank five years ago as head of its Israeli operations under the Vision Fund 2 partnership, will now expand his responsibilities to the international arena, working closely with SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and senior management. His new focus will be on financing and developing AI and cloud server farms, as well as investing in semiconductor companies.

During his tenure, Cohen primarily concentrated on cybersecurity investments, leading deals in Israeli companies such as Waze, Claroty, and Cato Networks. These investments yielded significant returns, including a profitable secondary sale of Waze shares and a substantial increase in Claroty's valuation from $2 billion to $4 billion. Cohen has been actively engaging with industry leaders in the US and Europe, although no new investments under his direct involvement have been reported yet.

SoftBank has undergone strategic shifts recently, moving from a broad venture capital approach under Vision Fund to more direct investments in AI infrastructure and semiconductor firms, including major stakes in OpenAI, ARM, and Intel. This pivot has led to departures of several senior managers and a refocus of investment priorities by Masayoshi Son. SoftBank's Vision Fund has seen its portfolio value rise significantly, driven by gains in companies like ByteDance and OpenAI, with the latter's valuation approaching $80 billion.

Cohen's promotion reflects SoftBank's evolving strategy and his growing influence within the organization. He will continue to oversee Israeli market activities while playing a key role in SoftBank's global investment initiatives in emerging technology sectors. Neither Cohen nor SoftBank have commented on the promotion as of the report's publication on August 18, 2026.