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In a webinar last week, prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist Shaun Maguire took part in a discussion about the facilitation of Starlink to Israel after Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, which included anecdotes of how he helped the country get access to the satellite telecommunication provider. There was even a mention of how Maguire assisted in connecting the Israel Defense Forces with Starlink after the attack—an association that has not previously been publicly acknowledged.
The topic was initially broached by Tel Aviv–based venture capitalist Avi Eyal, who was introducing Maguire at the beginning of the May 14 webinar titled “Why VCs Are Betting On Defense Tech." The webinar was hosted by the Israeli Defense Ministry's “Mafat for Startups,” a defense startup investment program run by its Directorate of Defense Research & Development.
It is unclear exactly when Starlink was activated for IDF use, even according to Eyal and Maguire’s recollections. On the webinar, Eyal described calling Maguire and saying, “Shaun, we have a major problem in Israel. We need to turn Starlink on immediately to help the Israeli military.” He then claimed that it took Maguire “12 hours, maybe less, to get Starlink switched on over Israel,” although he did not specify in what capacity. Maguire added that he believed Eyal contacted him some time between October 8 and October 9; later on the webinar, Maguire clarified that Eyal contacted him on October 9, at which point he helped with the introduction and facilitation of Starlink to the country "in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe like that."
