Israel's startup scene shows reslience despite nine months of war

When the war between Israel and Hamas broke out last October, we examined its potential impact on the tech ecosystems in Israel and Palestine. Nine months later, the prevailing sentiment in Israel, based on my conversation with founders and investors, is that the conflict has made the startup and VC ecosystem more resilient, especially its cyber and AI sectors. 

The technology sector is a significant pillar of Israel’s economy: As of 2022, the sector employed over 14% of the workforce, contributed more than 18% of the GDP, and accounted for half of the country’s exports, according to the 2023 annual report from the Israel Innovation Authority. 

Since the start of the year, 11 companies, primarily in cybersecurity and AI, have been acquired for over $2 billion. Notable acquisitions include Nvidia's purchases of Run.AI and Desi, as well as Blackstone's acquisition of Priority. Additionally, cloud security unicorn Wiz, which recently raised $1 billion, the largest financing round for any Israeli startup, is reportedly in talks for a $23 billion acquisition by Google.

By Tage Kene-Okafor.

Full story at Yahoo News.