Former AWS Executive Eliran Ben David to Lead OpenAI’s Startup Relations in Israel

Eliran Ben David, a former senior executive at AWS, has joined the artificial intelligence giant OpenAI and held an introductory event earlier today (Wednesday) for startups in Israel regarding the company's tools. As revealed in Calcalist last week, the appointment is a first step in OpenAI's approach to the Israeli ecosystem. The move comes against the backdrop of a feeling at OpenAI that it has "missed" the Israeli high-tech sector, which works more with the development and AI tools of its competitor, Anthropic.

At the same time, a job posting has appeared on the OpenAI website for establishing and managing relationships with startups in Israel, which will be affiliated with the company's office in Paris. Ben David's role is defined as AWS Partnerships Manager, and he is based in London as the person responsible for the entire EMEA region, but his main focus is expected to be high-tech companies in Israel, as the critical mass of startups with AI activity in the Middle East and Africa is concentrated here.

As part of the conference held today, the company's work tools were presented to startups, including Codex and ChatGPT Work, along with the GPT 5.6 family. Leading the activity on behalf of OpenAI is Trisha Toth, who is responsible for marketing to startups in the EMEA region, to whom Ben David also reports. Earlier this week, it was revealed that OpenAI signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Sheba Medical Center, which will be the first hospital outside the US to receive access to the company's dedicated medical model, OpenAI Healthcare.