Science and technology in Israel is one of the country's most developed sectors. Israel spent 4.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on civil research and development in 2015, the highest ratio in the world. In 2019, Israel was ranked the world's fifth most innovative country by the Bloomberg Innovation Index. It ranks thirteenth in the world for scientific output as measured by the number of scientific publications per million citizens. In 2014, Israel's share of scientific articles published worldwide (0.9%) was nine times higher than its share of the global population (0.1%).
High technology, also known as advanced technology or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest technology on the market. The opposite of high tech is low technology, referring to simple, often traditional or mechanical technology; for example, a slide rule is a low-tech calculating device. When high tech becomes old, it becomes low tech, for example vacuum tube electronics. Further, high tech is related to the concept of mid-tech, that is a balance between the two opposite extreme qualities of low-tech and high tech. Mid-tech could be understood as an inclusive middle that combines the efficiency and versatility of digital/automated technology with low-tech's potential for autonomy and resilience.
UST, formerly known as UST Global, is a provider of digital technology and transformation, information technology and services, headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. Stephen Ross founded UST in 1998 in Laguna Hills. The company has offices in the Americas, EMEA, APAC, and India.
Unit 8200 is an Israeli Intelligence Corps unit of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for clandestine operation, collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption, counterintelligence, cyberwarfare, military intelligence, and surveillance. Military publications include references to Unit 8200 as the Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps, and it is sometimes referred to as Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU). It is subordinate to Aman, the military intelligence directorate.
Gil Shwed is an Israeli software engineer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, one of Israel's largest technology companies and the world's largest pure-play cybersecurity company.
Silicon Wadi is a region in Israel that serves as one of the global centres for advanced technology. It spans the Israeli coastal plain, and is cited as among the reasons why the country has become known as the world's "start-up nation". The highest concentrations of high-tech industry in the region can be found around Tel Aviv, including small clusters around the cities of Raʽanana, Petah Tikva, Herzliya, Netanya, Rehovot, and Ness Ziona. Additional clusters of high-tech industry can be found in Haifa and Caesarea. More recent high-tech establishments have been raised in cities such as Jerusalem and Beersheba, in towns such as Yokneam Illit, and in Airport City. Israel has the third highest number of startups by region and the highest rate of startups per capita in the world.
Venture capital in Israel refers to the financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies based in Israel. The country's venture capital industry was born in the mid-1980s and has rapidly developed. Israel currently has more than 276 active venture capital funds, of which 71 are international VCs with Israeli offices. Israel's venture capital and incubator industry plays an important role in the booming high-tech sector that has been given the nickname "Silicon Wadi", considered second in importance only to its Californian counterpart, the Silicon Valley.
Shlomo Touboul is an Israeli business executive and inventor who has founded several companies including Finjan and Shany Computers. He is currently the President and CEO of Illusive Networks, a startup from the Israel-based incubator, Team8.
Illusive Networks is a cybersecurity firm headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel and New York. The company produces technology that stops cyber attackers from moving laterally inside networks by finding and eliminating errant credentials and connections, planting deceptive information about given network's resources, emulating devices, and deploying high interactivity decoys. Network administrators are alerted when cyber attackers use security deceptions in an attempt to exploit the network. Illusive Networks is the first company launched by the Tel Aviv-based incubator, Team8. In June 2015, Illusive Networks received $5 million in Series A funding from Team8. To date, it has raised over $54M.
Keren Elazari, also known as k3r3n3, is an Israeli cybersecurity analyst, writer, and speaker. She is a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv University Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center.
Gili Raanan is an Israeli venture capitalist and former founder of multiple software companies. Raanan started Sanctum in 1997, the company that created the Web application firewall AppShield and the web application penetration testing software AppScan. He later started NLayers which was acquired by EMC Corporation. He was a general partner at Sequoia Capital, the founder of Cyberstarts, and board member at Wiz, Adallom, Onavo, and Moovit, Snaptu.
Shlomo Kramer, is an Israeli information technology entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of cyber-security companies Check Point and Imperva, as well as Cato Networks, a cloud-based network security provider.
ThetaRay is a fintech software and big data analytics company with headquarters in Hod HaSharon, Israel and New York, and offices in Madrid, London, and Singapore.
PlaxidityX is an Israeli automotive cyber security company. It was purchased by Continental AG in 2017, for $430 million. In October 2017, Argus added a solution to enable OEMs to deliver over-the-air vehicle software updates.
Avner Halperin is an Israeli entrepreneur and CEO of Sheba Impact - the entrepreneurship and innovation company of Sheba Medical Center. He is also EyeControl's Chairman of the Board of Directors, a Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and an adjunct professor at Tel Aviv University.
Eviatar Matania was the founder and Head of the Israel National Cyber Bureau and starting February 2015 also the founder and first Director General of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, that consists of both the National Cyber Bureau and the National Cyber Security Authority, a tenure he concluded in January 2018. Currently, Matania is a professor at the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, where he also serves as the head of the MA Security Studies Program, and holds an adjunct professorship at Oxford University’s School of Government. Matania also holds consultancy roles in the fields of cyber, technological policies and strategies, and national security, and is the joint-head of the Smart Systems Initiative.
Varda Shalev is an Israeli medical researcher,a professor of medicine at the Tel Aviv University School of Public Health, and a primary care physician. She is also the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Alike. In 11.2022 she became a managing partner at Team8 foundry. Shalev sits on the Board of Directors of Teva Pharmaceutical since 2023.
Snyk Limited is a developer-oriented cybersecurity company, specializing in securing custom developed code, open-source dependencies and cloud infrastructure. It was founded in 2015 out of London and Tel Aviv and is headquartered in Boston.
Talon Cyber Security is an Israel-based provider of cybersecurity technologies with headquarters in Tel Aviv. It develops a secure browser engineered to provide enterprise-grade security across all devices, irrespective of location, device type, or operating system.
Yael Grossman is the commander and Brigadier General of the Israeli Defense Force's (IDF) technology and intelligence unit Lotem.
