Powering Israel’s Innovation Future

Fueled by a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, robust technological infrastructure and highly skilled human workforce that produces the most substantial number of startups per capita in the world, innovation is one of Israel’s most valuable natural resources. At the same time, Israel is today home to over 500 R&D centers of multinational corporations, many of them Fortune 500 companies, illustrating Israel’s profound and disproportionate impact on the advancement of global innovation as well.

The Israel Innovation Authority, responsible for the country’s innovation policy, is an independent and impartial statutory public entity that operates for the benefit of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and Israeli economy as a whole. Its mission is to invest in innovation in order to promote sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Authority functions as an enabler with all things related to the Israeli innovation ecosystem. It provides conditional grants to support disruptive technological innovations as well as engaged in creating the groundwork and infrastructure to prepare for future technologies in order to maintain both technological and economical leadership as well as improve productivity and global competitiveness of the Israeli economy.

Innovation is by far the most valuable resource for the State of Israel, serving as a national asset crucial to economic prosperity. Israel Innovation Authority seeks to further develop and support technological innovation in Israel through various support tools. Its mission is to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and disruptive technologies as leverage for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

With deep knowledge and understanding of the unique challenges facing Israeli companies and entrepreneurs, the Israel Innovation Authority provides a variety of practical tools and funding platforms aimed at addressing the dynamic and changing needs of the local and international innovation ecosystems. It provides conditional grants to support disruptive technological innovations as well as engaged in creating the groundwork and infrastructure to prepare for future technologies in order to maintain both technological and economic leadership as well as improve productivity and global competitiveness of the Israeli economy.

Mission, Goals, and Strategy

The Innovation Authority’s mission is to drive sustainable economic growth through technological innovation. Its strategy is built on three key pillars:

  • Direct investment in R&D, especially where market failures exist, offering conditional grants and matched funding to innovative ventures.
  • Preparing future ecosystems: spearheading national initiatives in cutting-edge fields like quantum computing, AI, bio-convergence, climate-tech, and advanced manufacturing.
  • Enabling innovation competitiveness: supporting high-tech with initiatives in human capital development, regulatory facilitation, and global market access.

The Authority operates as a state enabler, monitoring the tech ecosystem, intervening strategically, and laying the foundations for sectors not yet commercially viable but critical to Israel’s future

Role Within the Israeli Innovation Ecosystem

The Authority is the anchor of Israel’s innovation ecosystem. It serves multiple roles:

  • Financier and risk mitigator: Bridging gaps where private investment is insufficient, particularly in Deep Tech.
  • Strategic builder: Launching national programs that underpin future global competitiveness (e.g., national AI and bio-convergence initiatives).
  • Ecosystem developer: Stimulating collaborations between startups, academia, multinational corporations, and government bodies.
  • Talent and market enabler: Supporting inclusion of underrepresented groups and connecting Israeli innovators to global markets.
  • Its work ensures that technology sectors continue to contribute significantly to the economy: ~12% of the workforce, ~53% of exports, and ~20% of GDP.

As the main growth engine of the entire Israeli economy, the Israel Innovation Authority has recently updated its focus on ensuring Israel leads globally in technological platforms that are going to disrupt and make substantial impact on the future of our planet and mankind, such as Deep Tech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Bio-Convergence. These domains represent not only economic opportunity but the next frontier in solving humanity’s grand challenges—such as climate change, healthcare innovation, food security, and sustainability.

Unique Features

The Authority stands apart from other innovation agencies globally through:

  • Proactive Future-Readiness: Initiating national programs like Bio-Convergence and Quantum technology, long before market readiness.
  • Risk-Absorbing Investment Models: Offering grants that are repaid only upon commercialization success, encouraging bold innovation.
  • Global Market Integration: Promoting Israeli startups’ entrance into international markets via targeted programs and bilateral agreements.
  • Resilience and War-Economy Support: During crises (e.g., Covid-19 crisis, post-October 7 events), the Authority rapidly deployed Fast-Track bridging funds to protect startup runway

These elements create an innovation environment that is agile, market-responsive, and resilient even under severe geopolitical challenges.

The Authority’s operational divisions include:

Startup Division

he Startup Division offers unique tools to support the early developmental stages of technological initiatives at the pre-seed or initial R&D stages, thus helping transform their ideas into reality while reaching significant funding milestones.

Division programs include:

Growth and Advanced Manufacturing Division

The Growth Division operates a wide range of incentive programs that assist hi-tech companies in the sales growth stage as well as mature hi-tech companies that utilize growth channels based on technological innovation and/or seek assistance in funding innovative research and development.

Division programs include:

Technological Infrastructure

The Technological Infrastructure Division focuses on funding applied R&D infrastructure, promoting applied research in academia, technology transfer, Leveraging R&D for Dual Use Technologies, exchange of knowledge and experience and developing of groundbreaking innovation by an integrated group of researchers from academia and industry.

Division programs include:

International Collaboration

The International Collaboration Division is responsible for coordinating international collaboration in innovative R&D knowledge and technology between Israeli companies and counterpart organizations abroad, thus offering various competitive advantages for the Israeli industry in the global market.

Operated by the Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific Desks, as well as the desk for multinational corporations, support for such strategic alliances is made possible through an array of bilateral cooperation agreements and bi-national funds, as well as through the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

Division programs include: