According to information obtained by Israel Hayom, the planned center could accommodate at least 3,000 employees, with the project expected to unfold over several years.

This significant announcement comes from a company regarded as an international titan in the semiconductor industry, leading the charge in the global race for artificial intelligence advancements. NVIDIA's market value makes it as one of the world's largest and most influential corporations.

In its request for information, NVIDIA specified it is seeking a contiguous plot of land for purchase, ranging from 17 to 29 acres, with building rights for up to 180,000 square meters (1.9 million feet). The desired location is in northern Israel, near the company's existing offices in Yokneam, which currently house most of its local workforce.

The geographical boundaries outlined by NVIDIA include the area between Highway 67, Highway 73, Highway 781, and the Coastal Highway. The company emphasized that the land must be designated for high-tech use, with "high transportation accessibility" and proximity to major traffic routes and public transportation.

NVIDIA further stressed that the requested land must be available for immediate construction, purchase, and allocation.

The company's international stature lends particular significance to this real estate move. NVIDIA produces, among other things, the world's most advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), essential for training and developing AI models. Its H100 and A100 chips are considered the "digital gold" of the AI era, critical for creating advanced AI systems like ChatGPT or Claude.

NVIDIA's operations are at the center of geopolitical tensions between the United States and China in the realm of advanced technologies. The Trump administration imposed restrictions on the export of advanced chips, including to China, forcing NVIDIA to navigate complex economic and political pressures to sustain its rapidly growing global business, fueled by increasing investments in AI development.

In this context, NVIDIA's additional investment in Israel carries dual strategic importance – it strengthens the technological alliance between Israel and the United States while diversifying the company's development base in a region friendly to the Trump administration.

In 2023, NVIDIA's Israeli team developed the Israel-1 supercomputer using the NVIDIA Spectrum-X platform, also created in Israel. Last month, this supercomputer was ranked among the world's best in the prestigious TOP-500 list.

If realized, the new campus will complement NVIDIA's existing Yokneam facility and is likely to become the company's largest development hub outside the United States, further solidifying Israel's position as a leading global technology center.

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A few weeks ago, an envelope from the American embassy arrived in Meir's (pseudonym) mailbox. "Inside were personal letters for me, my wife, and each of my children," he recounts.

"In the letters, we were notified that all our US visas had been confiscated, and that we shouldn't dare try to enter America. The letter also 'strongly recommended' that we bring our passports to the American embassy so they could physically remove the visas. My son was supposed to study for a semester at an American university, which won't happen now, and my wife works for an American company. How can I explain to them that she is not approved to enter the US?" Meir wasn't given an official reason for revoking his and his family members' visas, but he doesn't need one. Meir is a senior executive at an Israeli offensive cyber company, and he's far from the only one in this industry whose US visa has been revoked.

As we are revealing for the first time, recently more and more employees at Israeli offensive cyber companies have been receiving letters from the American embassy with similar notifications about the cancellation of their visas and those of their family members, according to senior sources in the industry.

"It's an industry that's collapsing"

This phenomenon, which threatens the future of an industry already in crisis, has remained below the radar until now because most workers whose visas have been canceled prefer not to disclose the matter, fearing they will be fired or struggle to find work in the field. "Do you know what it means for a high-tech worker to have their American visa taken away?" says an industry source. "It's a death blow and grounds for dismissal."

In the past two and a half years, the Americans have taken a series of steps that have caused companies like NSO and Candiru to lose customers and employees, and other companies in the industry, such as Quadream, to shut down completely.

According to testimonies received by Israel Hayom, dozens of industry employees, including "vulnerability" researchers who form the spearhead of offensive cyber, have recently decided to move abroad, where they work for foreign companies.

National interests and commercial struggles involving technology giants are intertwined. According to several Israeli sources we spoke with, there are also antisemitic and anti-Israeli tendencies among senior officials in Washington.

According to several senior executives in the local offensive cyber industry, the State of Israel has not done enough to protect it and has abandoned it to American interests. "We have an entire industry that's simply collapsing," says one of them. "We're businesspeople, but we're not just losing money. Israel is losing an incredible security capability here, and the state is doing nothing to prevent it."

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The number of companies traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) reached a nine-year high in 2021, while daily turnover was its highest in more than a decade, the TASE said on Wednesday.

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Some 540 companies are listed on the TASE, 53 of them dual listed in New York and on other exchanges. During the year, 97 companies listed, 55 of them high-tech, for the most annual listings since 1993, the exchange said in a report.

Listings peaked at 654 companies in 2007.

About 26 billion shekels ($8.2 billion) was raised in public companies on the TASE this year, up from nearly 17 billion ($5.4 billion) in 2020.

Daily turnover held steady at 1.9 billion shekels ($603 million) , but was up 43% from 2019, and the most since 2 billion ($635 million) in 2010.

Listings this year included Rada Electronic Industries (RADA.TA), in addition to its Nasdaq listing.

TASE chief executive Ittai Ben Zeev attributed the bourse's rebound partly to government steps to encourage more activity in the capital markets and "gives us a lot of optimism towards 2022."

"The stock exchange, as the home of the Israeli economy, today reflects more than ever the success of the local economy and the significant place in Israel," Ben Zeev said.

In 2019, the TASE became a public company at a time when it had lost 40% of its investors since 2010 and spent a number of years struggling with delistings and declining trading volumes.

Much of that came when global index provider MSCI upgraded Israel into a developed market and into a separate Europe and Middle East category from an emerging market, resulting in a loss of large emerging market flows that were never made up.

Last week, MSCI said it was considering reassigning Israel to a new region, likely Europe, which would open the door to large amounts of passive inflows for the Israeli capital markets.

So far in 2021, the blue-chip Tel Aviv 35 index (.TA35) has gained 26% versus an 11% decline last year while the broader index of 90 shares (.TA90) gained 29% -- outpacing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. Its general bond index rose 4% this year, up from 0.8% in 2020, although daily turnover for bonds slipped 4% to 4 billion shekels ($1.27 billion).

The TASE high-tech index, though, rose 4% in 2021 after a 39% jump last year.

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Israel's high-tech sector experienced a record year in 2021 as startups raised $25.4 billion from January to November, while 33 companies reached unicorn status with valuations of $1 billion or more, according to a report published Monday by Start-Up Nation Central (SNC).

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Compared to $10.8 billion raised in 2020, this year's figure represents a 136% increase.

"Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Israeli tech ecosystem is stronger than ever," said Avi Hasson, CEO of SNC.

"In a world where digital has become the default, Israel is a world-class source of solutions to global challenges."

Funding in Israeli startups and companies was 71% more than the global average, as shown by data compiled by the research firm Pitchbook.

"This… raises the question of whether Israel has made the transition from being the Start-Up Nation to the Scale-Up Nation," Hasson said.

Hasson also pointed out that Israeli companies were dealing with a shortage of qualified employees, with tens of thousands of high tech jobs unfilled. According to Hasson, SNC was extending a had to Israeli tech firms by launching training programs for high-tech workers and helping connect Israeli entrepreneurs to governments, corporations, and investors.

The three largest sectors in terms of funding were fintech, enterprise IT and data infrastructure, and security technologies, the SNC report said.

Israel also saw 33 privately-held technology companies join the billion-dollar club in 2021, bringing the total number of unicorns (companies valued at $1 billion or more) in the country to 53.

The new unicorns include biotech firm Immunai; robotics startup Fabric; cybersecurity startup Wiz; fintech firm Melio; and music app maker JoyTunes.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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For the fourth time this Sunday, Israel will partake in "Hour of Code" – a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in over 180 countries. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli students will participate in the week-long event, beginning December 12, in which they will learn and share methods for writing code.

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Last year, more than 200,000 Israeli children took part in the event, which is the brainchild of Code.org – a nonprofit "dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by young women and students from other underrepresented groups," according to its website.

Ever since its launch in the US in 2013, over 100 million children from 180 countries have participated Hour of Code events.

Israeli high-tech company Wix is spearheading the Hour of Code initiative in Israel, and again unveiled a new design for the event's Israeli website.

"Our vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn computer science as part of their core Kindergarten-12 education," according to Code.org.

Wix President Nir Zohar said: "Code and technology are everywhere these days – from vaccine and medicine development to space exploration, to creating cinematic masterpieces. The ability to write code and create via the relevant technology in every professional field helps solve problems, expedite processes, and influence the lives of millions of people.

"Every child, from everywhere in Israel, regardless of their background, needs the possibility to learn computer sciences in school, alongside the assortment of other core subjects being taught today. Israel is a consistent leader in terms of global innovation and every child in Israel should receive an equal opportunity to be part of high-tech nation in the future," he said.

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Tel Aviv has made the 2021 list of best cities in the world in a compilation by major international publication TimeOut.

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The ranking awards Israel's buzzing metropolis eighth place, ahead of other major tourist cities like Los Angeles, Tokyo, London or Barcelona.

Attributes which launched Tel Aviv ahead of its fierce competitors include the city's great food and drink scene and its reputation as an all-around fun place.

The article also praised the White City's vegan options and thriving tech industry, noting that Tel Avivians had displayed great resilience during COVID outbreaks.

Last June, a TimeOut ranking of the "30 Coolest Streets in the World Right Now" placed Tel Aviv's Levinsky St. at No. 15. The article praised the location's restaurants and cafes, as well as its bars.

These distinctions cannot, however, obscure the fact that real estate prices and the cost of living in Tel Aviv are soaring, pushing young people to retreat to lower-rated central cities.

In the second quarter of 2021, real estate prices in Tel Aviv registered a 10% increase compared to the first quarter of the year. The average price of an apartment in the area is now around $1,091,968, up 20% in two years.

This article was first published by i24NEWS

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When he was 13 years old, Ahmed Saba walked into the Moona center, a socio-technological initiative at the high-park in Majd al-Krum in the Galilee, and simply asked to learn. Six years later, as a 19-year-old student at the prestigious Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Saba has built a prototype for the world's lowest-cost standard respirator.

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Ahmed teamed up with a doctor from his neighborhood, who works at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, and asked for his help to better understand the role of respirators. Using 3D prints, Saba was able to create components for a standard ventilator. Saba's dream is to collaborate with African and developing countries to fight the coronavirus pandemic and respiratory diseases, by creating and assembling respirators with 3D printing technology, and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people that otherwise don't have access to medical treatment available in developed countries.

Saba told Israel Hayom that he got the idea and inspiration for his low-cost respirator after the pandemic erupted across the globe and in Israel when the urgent need arose for the life-saving machines.

Video: Anas Saba

"There was immense pressure from countries around the world, which were in need of respirators," he said. "Countries with money were able to buy them, but it wasn't possible for many Third World countries to acquire them – and people simply died. I didn't accept it as predestination that people would have to die because there aren't enough respirators."

Moona is a non-profit organization founded by former Israeli Air Force pilot Assaf Brimer. The association mainly works in Arab communities, including Kfar Qassem, Kuseife, Rahat, and Majd al-Krum, and strives to make the high-tech industry more accessible to children, youth and teenagers from the Arab sector. The young students gain experience and expertise working with the sophisticated equipment that Moona provides, which costs in the millions of dollars, which prepares them to join the largest high-tech companies in the market with established experience.

Speaking to Israel Hayom, Brimmer said, "Ahmed Saba is part of a team of youngsters who want to move ahead in the high-tech and technological fields. His breakthrough in making the respirator prototype could save many lives across the globe."

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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former software entrepreneur, pledged on Tuesday to slash regulations to cut the cost of living and help Israel's small and medium-size businesses flourish as well as its globally successful hi-tech sector.

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"We want to 'high-techicize' the rest of the economy," he told a news conference in Jerusalem. "We're going to turn ourselves into a paradise for small and medium businesses ... to make it easy and compelling to open a business and succeed."

Bennett, who took office last month, took a swipe at his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Israel had endured 12 years of talk and "minimal execution."

Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said there were 209 regulators in Israel and that they acted mainly in their own interests instead of aiming to improve productivity, competition, and growth.

He pointed to a 2018 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that said reducing the level of regulation to the OECD average would increase Israel's per-capita GDP by 3.75% in five years, and 5.75% – 75 billion shekels ($23 billion) – over a decade.

According to a report by the Prime Minister's Office and Finance and Justice Ministries, Israel's per capita GDP and productivity have lagged Western peers for a decade due to over-regulation.

Under a framework law, the government plans to establish a single authority to oversee regulatory processes and to factor speed of processing, competitiveness, and pricing into corporate regulations.

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Israel's high tech sector continues to smash records, with tech startups raising a record $10 billion from January-May 2021.

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According to Nimrod Cohen, founding partner at TAU Ventures, which invests in Israeli high tech companies: "This past year, we've seen an explosion in terms of fundraising, both in terms of amounts and in terms of worth. Some might say that this is a bubble, but on the other hand, I think that the process that has taken place in the world this past year, which was accelerated by COVID, is mainly one of realizing that technology is everywhere and critical to every industry."

Cohen says that "We, our children, and our parents handle technology from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep. I assume that this realization, combined with low interest rates and a lack of investment alternatives, is part of the reason we are seeing an increased influx of funds. Like with every trend, some will ride this one and benefit from it unjustifiably, but I believe that it will straighten out in the end."

Startup fundraising in the first half of 2021 included 28 rounds by unicorns – startups valued at $1 billion or more. A total of 30 rounds comprised $100 million or more, what are known as "mega-rounds." In total, these mega-rounds made up over $5 billion of all money raised. The high tech sub-sectors that raised the most money were cyber, fintech, and organizational programs.

Mega-rounds have become almost routine. In January 2021, OwnBackup, which develops cloud-based backup and restoration solutions, announced that it had completed a round totaling $167.5 million, bringing its valuation to $1.4 billion.

Other Israeli high tech firms reported closing massive rounds in the space of 72 hours, such as Orca Security, which in three days raised $210 million, pushing its valuation to $1.2 billion – all a mere two years after it was founded.

Another aspect of fundraising that has broken records were fundraising rounds held more closely together than in the past. Whereas it used to be customary to wait two to three years between rounds, Israeli high tech companies are now closing multiple rounds in a single year. An example of one such company is Salt Security, which held three rounds in under a year, bringing in $120 million -- $70 million in the most recent alone.

Salt Security CEO Roey Eliyahu, the company had not planned to hold additional rounds, but agreed to because it saw the investors as potential strategic partners for the future.

Dekel Persi, co-founder and managing partner at TPY Capital, said that the Israeli high tech sector was undergoing "accelerated growth," which translated to companies and ventures being able to grow into giant companies rather than being acquired for a few tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Part of that accelerated growth of course has to do with COVID, and continued low interest rates in the world, which is creating demand to invest in the tech sector," Persi added.

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However, caution is needed, warned Lee Moser, managing partner of AnD Ventures.

"This past year has accelerated processes in the world of investment in high tech in general and Israeli high tech in particular. But this flood of money is causing some startup companies to grow too fast and skip important steps in building a stable company. Entrepreneurs are finding themselves with double the amount they wanted to raise, with investors who aren't necessarily a good fit strategically … Surplus money in the markets mustn't be allowed to cause entrepreneurs to lose focus on building stable companies, starting from the critical first steps to continuing to grow and joining up with the right investors for them," Moser said.

Gilad Zwick contributed to this report.

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Not only is Israel shifting from "startup nation" to "scale-up nation," but the time it takes Israeli startup companies to scale up – even to "unicorn" (valued at $1 billion or more) status – is decreasing, according to a new report compiled by Jonathan Cohen of Catalyst Investments.

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Cohen investigated the numbers behind the recent change in the Israeli startup ecosystem, and found that the shift from "start-up" to "scale-up" reflected a change in the influence of US investors in Israel.

US-based corporate and financial institutions have increased their exposure in Israel and are now predominant, both in terms of investments and exits, Cohen explained.

"If we look at the investment rounds above $100 million, more than 70% (including all the rounds ever) occurred from 2019, and 27 rounds (i.e. 33%) were completed this year, from January to May 2021. Out of these 27 rounds above $100 million, 23 were led or co-led by American institutions. As comparison, only a third of the rounds were led by American investors prior to 2019," Cohen said.

"There are many reasons to explain the increasing amount invested by US investors: First, the Israeli VC and PE ecosystem is maturing, with more companies and experienced entrepreneurs succeeding in convincing US corporates and institutions to invest larger amounts in the country. Second, the 'startup nation' has developed a large number of companies valued between $300 million and $3 billion that are good targets of mid-cap and large-cap investors, for either large investments or buyouts. Third, American investors consider that Israeli companies are cheaper than US companies, and are willing to invest in them as they know that Israeli companies will relocate their headquarter in the US to help for the future exit.

"Lastly, Israel's ability to cope with crises such as COVID-19 was a great advertisement for the Israeli companies and its economy as a whole," Cohen continued.

According to Cohen, the development of the Israeli market also attracts investors from the rest of the world.

"Catalyst receives a lot of investments inquiries from Asia and the EU, as investors want to increase their exposure to the Israeli tech. The fact that the US is the first mover in terms of large investment rounds opens doors to other large international investors, notably Chinese players. With an increasing maturity of other regions such as Asia and the GCC, Israel could expect to be, one day, the home of more than 100 unicorns," he said.

According to the report, capital invested in Israeli high-tech increases every year and in 2020 reached some $10 billion. Over 80% of the investments in 2020 were directed toward growth-stage investments, from $2.5 billion to $8.5 billion over the last five years. In Q1 2021, the trend was similar, with $5.4 billion invested in Israeli high-tech. US institutions generally invest alongside leading local funds, as those funds offer a presence in Israel to support the company.

Meanwhile, the average time it takes for Israeli tech companies to become unicorns has decreased by half in the past decade. For Israeli unicorns established after 2008, it took an average of six years to reach a billion-dollar valuation, compared to an average of 15 years for Israeli unicorns established from 1999 to 2008. The number of Israeli unicorns has soared in recent years, from one in 2013 to 18 in 2019, and 65 in May 2021 – more unicorn companies than in all of Europe.

Exits for Israeli startups show a similar trend. From 2017 to May 2021, 70% of the 102 merger and acquisition deals over $100 million were completed by North American acquirers, compared to 13% from Europe, 7% from Asia, 9% from Israel and 1% from Australia.

IPOs also reflect the same development – with 77% of Israeli IPOs completed on the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange, with another 15% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and 8% on the Euronext.

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