Startups

Sixteen-year-old developer Noam Zavin from Petah Tikva has launched Plaxzy, an AI-powered platform enabling users to build and share games without coding.

AI tools and autonomous agents are enabling solo founders to build profitable, million-dollar tech companies without employees or venture capital, reshaping the startup ecosystem.

Venture capital fund NFX has announced it will stop raising external capital and transition to personal investments. The move highlights broader challenges facing the Israeli venture sector amid rising AI demands and the dominance of US mega-funds.

Cybersecurity startup Oak leads LinkedIn's top 15 Israeli startups ranking for 2026, followed by doubleAI and Wonderful, highlighting the massive surge of artificial intelligence across the high-tech sector.

European corporations and venture funds with over 800 million euros are arriving in Tel Aviv for the Europe Days 2026 conference to meet Israeli startups.

Israel Innovation Authority Chairman Alon Stopel warns that while the high-tech sector remains resilient, overseas migration, high labor costs, and a lack of long-term infrastructure investments pose severe threats.

Israeli startup Rein Security has raised $25 million in funding, pivoting its platform to secure enterprise AI agents against advanced prompt injection threats.

Butterfly Effect, parent of Manus, raised over $500M from investors like Tencent after a blocked Meta acquisition, targeting a Hong Kong IPO.

Anthropic has expanded its startup program, offering up to $45,000 in ecosystem perks, API credits, and direct engineering support to attract early-stage developers.

Three years post-October 7, the SouthUp incubator in the Western Negev hosts 28 startups, driven by growth in DefenceTech, new venture funds, and security innovations.

Discover three upcoming free Israeli tech events focusing on artificial intelligence in the physical world, AI agents, and B2B startup networking.

Israeli startups raised a record $4.4 billion in Q3 2026, surpassing the total capital raised in all of 2025, driven by massive funding rounds and major acquisitions.

Silicon Valley venture capital firm Lightspeed has launched a dedicated $250 million fund, 'Lightspeed India V', to aggressively target early-stage artificial intelligence startups in India and Southeast Asia.

The Geektime Evolve to AI 2026 conference will take place on November 4 at Tel Aviv University, focusing on Agentic SDLC, enterprise AI agents, security, and shared memory systems.

The new fund of the former NBA player will invest in about 12 startups in the fields of cyber, AI, and defense. Following the raise, the assets under management of Swish grow to about $800 million.

Former basketball player and venture capitalist Omri Casspi has completed a $250 million raise for his third fund. The total volume of assets under management at Swish Ventures has reached $800 million.

The Israeli high-tech sector has seen a surge in investment, with WonderFul, Upwind, and Lyte raising a combined total of one billion dollars in a single day, signaling a robust recovery.

Senior venture capital investor Oren Zeev criticizes the trend of incorporating startups in Israel, warning that choosing the US (Delaware) over Israel can save founders millions in taxes and avoid critical regulatory risks.

The Quantum Hub platform is holding a first-of-its-kind conference where AI agents manage the initial screening and introduction phase between corporations and startups. Instead of investing resources in dozens of "corridor conversations," the system identifies an exact match between industry needs and relevant technologies, passing the case to human interaction only when there is real...

While you were relaxing, Israeli high-tech was running on turbo. With half a billion dollars in funding, one huge exit, and several under-the-radar surprises, the sleepy summer month became the most active in recent years.

The technological center of Israeli entrepreneurship is shifting east: today, nearly 600 Israeli companies operate in New York, with a total valuation of nearly 70 billion dollars.

Israeli high-tech is undergoing a transformation as entrepreneurs increasingly launch companies in the U.S. and reliance on foreign capital grows. Noam Kanty of EY notes that the industry has become a complex ecosystem facing new challenges.

The wave of layoffs in high-tech creates uncertainty, but history shows that market shocks foster the growth of major companies. Experienced professionals are now leveraging AI to build leaner, more efficient startups.

Winners of the MerageNext 2025 competition will receive grants, mentoring, and access to the Innovation Bridge program in California.

The Ofir-SouthUp Ventures fund, which invests in technology companies in the Western Negev, is preparing to make its first investments. The fund is expected to raise between $20 million and $30 million.

According to a new report by PitchBook, Israel leads the global ranking in the number of exits per capita, outperforming the USA and the UK. The country also shows strong results in investment attraction and AI sector development.

A new MAFAT report obtained by Globes reveals that the volume of orders from startups doubled in the first half of 2026, alongside records in capital raising and defense exports. Autonomous platforms and AI solutions lead the volume of engagements.

Tel Aviv University was ranked third in the world outside the US for the number of research master's graduates who founded unicorn companies. The Hebrew University and the Technion also entered the top ten.

The Israeli high-tech scene is as active as ever. Here are the most intriguing upcoming meetups, conferences, and tech lectures you should add to your calendar.

After billion-dollar exits, prominent tech entrepreneurs are stepping down from CEO roles to join AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI as individual technical contributors.

While the entire industry is dealing with a complex slowdown in investments, the BizLabs program reveals exceptional data on an unusual survival rate of 93% and the raising of tens of millions of dollars.

The Jerusalem Development Authority, the Ministry of Defense, and the Jerusalem Municipality are launching a new deep-tech accelerator. Selected startups will receive up to two million shekels in funding and access to defense research facilities.

The chairman of the "Yashar!" party visited Margalit Startup City in Kiryat Shmona, met with business owners, and declared that the rehabilitation of the North would be a top priority for his future government. The visit highlighted innovation and growth activities ongoing in the Galilee since the start of the war.

Samsung is launching the Galaxy Z Fold8 and hosting two exclusive dinners for startup founders in Tel Aviv. The events will take place on August 6 and 9, featuring Uri Levine and Dov Moran.

Hailo and StreamElements, which raised a combined total of about half a billion dollars, were recently sold in fire sales. This reflects the collapse of the "growth at any cost" model in the Israeli high-tech sector.

Worrying data reveals the scale of the deep crisis in the local technology sector, as a significant portion of those laid off are considering leaving the industry due to fears for their professional future.

The Israeli cyber industry has flocked to Las Vegas for the massive annual Black Hat conference. Experts estimate that one in every four attendees is Israeli, reinforcing the country's status as a global "cyber empire."

July proved to be a month of remarkable activity for the Israeli ecosystem, with startups raising approximately $1.3 billion. Over half of this total was secured in the final week, marking a level of investment not seen since 2021.

Udi Netzer, a veteran venture investor, faces significant losses in the housing market. After buying a Tel Aviv apartment for 6.7 million shekels, he realized that canceling the deal and losing 540,000 shekels is more rational than proceeding with the purchase.

Maor Shlomo, the founder of BASE44, has announced the establishment of a private fund to invest in startups developing cancer treatments. The decision follows the personal loss of his mother to the disease.

Amid the war with Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held an emergency meeting with tech startup leaders. The Pentagon is seeking their assistance to rapidly rebuild depleted stockpiles of precision munitions.

Ben Lavi, 28, defines himself as a "serial entrepreneur" and has only been investing for a year and a half. He prefers a simple strategy of indices and crypto, focusing his energy on his businesses rather than active trading.

Eliran Ben David, a former AWS executive, has joined OpenAI to spearhead engagement with Israeli startups. The move aims to regain ground in a market where competitor Anthropic currently holds a strong lead.

According to sources close to OpenAI, the company does not plan to open offices in Israel or hire a dedicated local manager, despite previous reports. The strategy involves expanding operations in the EMEA region remotely, led by former Amazon executives.

While many tech companies are cutting staff due to AI adoption, defense-tech startups are actively expanding and increasing salaries. A GotFriends report attributes this to global security shifts and rising demand for defense technologies.

Two Israeli universities have been ranked among the top 30 in the inaugural W5 index for "AI output" in academia. The Technion is ranked 25th, and Tel Aviv University is 28th.

The AI revolution is transforming team building and candidate assessment. Join our upcoming webinar to learn how to adapt your recruitment processes.

Mass layoffs in Israel's high-tech sector, driven by AI integration and economic instability, are shattering the 'psychological contract' between employees and the industry, leading to a deep identity crisis.

The Israel Innovation Authority is launching a one-billion-shekel fast-track program to help young tech companies extend their operational runway by six months, mitigating the impact of the dollar's devaluation against the shekel.