Program Description

The Israel Innovation Authority, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, and the National Artificial Intelligence Directorate, through the Human Capital Fund for High-Tech , announce the opening of two simultaneous verticals:

The application, should refer to one of the verticals as follows:

Vertical 1: Placement of Talent and Top Talent

This vertical deals with locating potential and placing experienced workers in AI fields or bringing and training experienced entrepreneurs from abroad.
Target Audience: The relevant target audience for Area 1 is those who meet all the points below:

• New immigrants, persons eligible under the Law of Return, and returning residents.
• Holders of a bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering / Computer Science / Data Engineering / Data Science / ML / AI.
• Those with extensive employment experience in the areas of expertise described in the appendix, including in technology companies/research institutes worldwide; or entrepreneurs who previously established startup companies and/or served as CEO/VP in companies whose product includes Core AI components (as defined in the appendix).
• The program may include the following components:
  • Potential-location processes: including with respect to target countries with high aliyah potential (such as the United States, South America, Australia, France, Canada, and England), through access to databases that include “Talent” (as defined in the appendix), campaigns in diaspora communities and academia, creation of collaborations with universities and Jewish organizations, and/or head hunting for “Talent” profiles (as defined in the appendix).
  • Training (Pre-Aliyah): focused preparation for the Israeli high-tech market, strengthening AI skills and relevant tools, soft skills and Israeli work culture, and a personal mentor for each candidate.
  • Improving the skills of experienced entrepreneurs from abroad who have already established technology startups, while exposing them to content and industry in Israel that will assist the entrepreneur, inter alia, in building the business plan, customer acquisition, market validation, building an MVP, fundraising, and more.
  • Screening and placement process: personalized candidate-company matching, accelerated remote interviews, signing an employment agreement before/around aliyah, with the process directed toward AI companies in Israel.
• The winners will be required to operate in coordination with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration regarding the manner of locating, screening, directing, and placing program participants in Israel.
• Basic Hebrew studies and the regular absorption package will be provided by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
• Program participants may be given an additional support package by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration or anyone on its behalf, which includes support for at least 12 months after commencement of employment.

Vertical 2: Expanding the Placement of Skilled AI Human Capital in New R&D Centers of Multinational Companies in Israel

This vertical concerns expanding entry channels for skilled human capital in artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on CORE AI, in multinational companies opening new R&D activity in Israel.
Target Audience:

• Representatives of multinational companies.

The program should include the following components:

• Rapid identification of multinational companies with significant CORE AI activity that have not yet begun activity through an R&D center in Israel, and presentation of the potential of Israeli human capital in CORE AI fields to companies considering opening an R&D center in Israel, both at the company’s headquarters abroad and physically in Israel.
• Assisting companies that are in the process of opening new R&D activity in Israel in screening and locating skilled personnel suited to their needs, and in particular personnel classified as “Talent” / “Top Talent” (as defined in the appendix).

Additional principles:

• A separate program must be submitted for each preferred area.
• The same applicant may submit several programs for different preferred areas but must attach a statement regarding the company’s resources and capabilities to carry out all programs submitted simultaneously.

Grant Amount

• A program whose requested budget is up to a total amount of NIS 1,000,000 will receive a grant at a rate of 50%, 60%, or 70% of the approved budget, in according to ance with the committee’s decision.
• A program whose requested budget exceeds NIS 1,000,000 will receive a grant at a rate of 30%, 40%, or 50% of the approved budget, in accordance according to with the decision of the Research Committee.
• In special cases, where the Research Committee believes that the program has a very high level of innovation and uniqueness, it may approve an exceptional grant rate of 60% or 70% of the approved budget.
• The Research Committee may approve an additional 10% to the grant rates detailed above if it finds that the approval recipient met predetermined measurable and assessable targets arising from the approved program. This rate and the list of targets will be determined by the committee in the letter of approval.

Criteria

Threshold Conditions

1. The applicant is a corporation duly incorporated and registered in Israel and operates in accordance with the laws of the State of Israel.
2. If the applicant is an association or a public-benefit company – it holds a valid certificate of proper management from the Registrar of Associations, or alternatively, if two years have not yet elapsed since commencement of its activity – a certificate of submission of documents.
   Notwithstanding the foregoing, an applicant that is an association or public-benefit company and does not possess a certificate of proper management or a certificate of document submission, as applicable, on the application submission date may present such certificate by the date of signing the budget sheet and letter of undertaking in accordance with the Program’s rules and regulations.
3. The application is intended to address one or more of the challenges in developing skilled human capital for Israel’s knowledge-intensive industry.
4. The activity of the program that is the subject of the application is in the same preferred areas and/or related to the integration of human capital from abroad, as stated in this public call.
5. No financial assistance has been received, for implementation of the file that is the subject of the application, from a government entity or the Israel Innovation Authority, directly or indirectly, other than pursuant to the provisions of the program.
6. The applicant does not have restricted accounts and is not undergoing receivership, a stay of proceedings, liquidation, or the like.

Criteria for Evaluation:

• The level of innovation and degree of uniqueness of the program is the subject of the application.
• The applicant’s capabilities, including relevant experience, management capabilities, capabilities for building relevant partnerships, and the assessed ability to complete and implement the program that is the subject of the application within the program period.
• The extent of the response provided within the program to the requirement under Area 1 or Area 2, as applicable.
• The extent of the response to challenges in developing skilled human capital for Israel’s knowledge-intensive industry within the program that is the subject of the application, and in particular:
  • High-productivity additionality – the estimated number of persons who will join, be upgraded, or whose attrition will be prevented in high-wage technological professions (as defined in the Benefit Track) in Israel’s knowledge-intensive industry as a result of the program, including additionality relative to the applicant’s previous activity in the program area.
  • The growth (scale) and implementation potential of the program in Israel.
  • The effectiveness and feasibility of the program, including cost-benefit considerations.
  • Integration of target audiences
  • The extent to which human capital from abroad is integrated into the proposed program.
    The committee will consider applications that meet the threshold conditions and assess their quality in accordance with the criteria detailed in the program, as set forth above, with specific reference to the relevant target audience and the challenges it presents.

Application Process

• Applications must be submitted by 17.09.2026 at 12:00 noon (ILT). Applications submitted after this time will not be discussed.
• Proposals should be submitted for a 12-month implementation period ending at the end of December 2027.
• We recommend conducting a thorough review the Program and verify compliance with the conditions and relevant submission provisions.
• Your application should be submitted through the personal area on the Israel Innovation Authority Hebrew website using an online application form

Note:

• The Israel Innovation Authority will accept only complete and valid applications submitted together with all forms required under the conditions and procedures of the Benefit Track. It is recommended to submit the forms several days before the final submission date to ensure that the submission is valid. An applicant wishing to receive confirmation that its application was properly received is requested to submit as early as possible. In the event of contradictions and/or discrepancies between the forms, the budget file shall prevail.
• This call-for-proposals page should be monitored; updates, if any, will be published there.
• To avoid any doubt, it is clarified that the foregoing is only a summary of the provisions of the Program and its procedures, and that the binding texts are the complete texts of the Program, the procedures, and their appendices in their original Hebrew version, which form an integral part of publication of the call for proposals. In the event of a contradiction or discrepancy between the wording of the call for proposals and the provisions of the Program and the procedures, the provisions and the procedures of the Hebrew Program will prevail.
• Publication of the call for proposals does not constitute a commitment to approve an application by any applicant or at all.