Israel – A new Hot Spot for Technology Innovation
Airline and technology giants have been focusing on investing in Israel as the hottest location for innovative R&D growth. The region has the largest number of startups per capita, with 1 startup per 1,400 people as a result of many technological industries collaboration with the Israeli Defence Force.
This phenomena has caught that eye of may key players within the tech and aviation industry from across the world striving for something that is beyond the normal scopes of entrepreneurship.
Asaf Toker, CEO of SeeVoov a virtual video based trip planning platform notes that “there is a culture in Israel for innovation, and since people see that many startups are being promoted and sold and doing great stuff, it gives you motivation to create more. “
An example being Waze, an Israeli startup, now a household name sold to Google in June 2013 for $USD1.3 billion.
CEO of Silentium, Yoel Naor believe that the innovative nature of Israel is because “Israeli society has a unique DNA that strives for solutions that are both creative and quick.” “Also, there’s a vast technological experience accumulated in the Israeli military, and combined with that supporting ecosystem, these create a unique fertile ground for innovative ideas.”
The Israeli defence force fosters a collaboration between older, more traditional organisations such as airlines, and younger and more agile startups. These relationship have been fostered, built upon and now developed making it a hit for companies like Apple, IMB and Microsoft to establish R&D centres in Israel. This forces older companies to allow to adapt to the malleable nature of innovation, while younger startups adapt to the unavoidable processes of big organisations. There is little doubt expansive nature of R&D being embedded in the Israeli culture is only going to grow exponentially, pushing innovation in every sector from machine learning to aerospace.
