Casino mogul and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson’s foundation shelled out $16.4 million for the SpaceIL project. This took care of a large chunk of the startup’s total $36 million budget. “As an entrepreneur,” Adelson told Reuters, “nothing is as thrilling as supporting a group of people who have been told their dreams cannot be realized.” SpaceIL also received a generous donation from Morris Kahn, an original investor in Amdocs, and philanthropist Lynn Shusterman.
When asked about SpaceIL’s chances of success, Aby Har-Even, former head of Israel’s space agency said, “I think they have the know-how and the technology and have a very good chance of being successful and winning the competition.” Former Israeli president Shimon Peres told the Forward, “The time has come for an Israeli flag to be planted on the moon. I am proud of the youngsters who created this initiative, to put the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon, and I know they can achieve it.”