TLDR:
- Tech entrepreneurs Liron and Naomi Petrushka tragically died in a plane crash in California.
- They were well-known investors and entrepreneurs in the Israeli tech industry.
The Petrushkas, who had been living in California for the last few years, had investments in companies like Check and Next Insurance. They were also involved in venture capital firm UpWest, which invests in Israeli-led startups in the US and Israel.
In 1999, they sold their company CommerceBid for over $200 million and continued to work for the buyer, CommerceOne, for two years. Liron Petrushka also had a background in soccer, having played for Hapoel Ramat Gan.
The cause of the crash, which occurred during a snowstorm near Tahoe Truckee Airport, is still unknown. The couple was on a single-engine, turboprop plane that had taken off from Centennial Airport in Colorado.