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“Thriving” is not a term commonly being used today around the Israeli tech ecosystem, but instead has been replaced by the idea of maintaining resilience during this era.

Over a year into the war, a heightened state of anxiety in the country has become the “new normal” and professionals are doing what they can to keep moving their initiatives forward despite the complicated security situation at home. 

As part of that effort (and with some hesitation), professionals in the Israeli ecosystem flew to the United States for several conferences over the past month. Two of these were the Israeli American Council Summit in Washington DC; and Climate Week, which took place in parallel to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 

In the pro-Israel community, we tend to focus on the negative impression Israel has abroad. But after speaking with a number of tech entrepreneurs and investors who interact with professionals outside of Israel, it’s clear that the Startup Nation brand is still very strong and still provides a message Israel can lead with. 

The Israeli American Council Summit 

While the IAC summit was focused on politics (it is a US presidential election year, after all), as well as bringing the Israeli and Jewish American community together, there was a prevalent tech element to the conference and a strong networking focus as well.

Panels focused on tech-related topics such as “From Corporate to Combat: The CEOs Who Dropped Everything to Join the Front Line,” “Fashla Night with the Israeli Sharks” and “Taboo Investing: Zionism in Tech.”

Notable speakers included Oracle CEO Safra Catz, JFrog cofounder and CEO Shlomi Ben Haim, CyberArk founder Udi Mokady, Group 11 VC Founding Partner Dovid Frances, and ICON (Israel Collaboration Network) founder and Executive Director Yasmin Lukatz. 

Importantly, this was one of the first Israeli-American gatherings since October 7, 2023.

Many American attendees reported experiencing antisemitism over the past year, and wanted to connect with the community. Israeli attendees, still traumatized by the events of October 7, said they found solace in connecting with world Jewry.  

It was an engaging platform for many wartime influencers whose popularity has skyrocketed since October 7 in defending Israel online: author Douglas Murray, Israeli-Arab journalist Yoseph Haddad, TikTok star Montana Tucker, and rapper Kosha Dillz. 

This conference also served as an opportunity for Israeli entrepreneurs and investors to support the US-Israeli tech relationship by attending and networking. 

One founder who took advantage of this opportunity was Dana Gorsky, one of three cofounders of Reli. This prop-tech startup’s leasing platform helps multifamily property owners in the United States lease out their assets online while also using licensed real estate agents. The platform synchronize owners, agents, tenants and potential renters to deliver an optimized and streamlined solution.

Gorsky told ISRAEL21c she decided to attend the IAC Summit to connect with other Israeli entrepreneurs. From her experience as an entrepreneur, and moving between New York and Israel, she has met many Jews and Israelis who have moved to New York and have created a strong community.

“Whether you’re Orthodox or secular, it doesn’t matter. The core of being an Israeli, or somebody who has a connection to Israel, is the base for the community. It’s very fulfilling to be surrounded around such people,” she said.

Also at the summit was Yair Vardi, a founding partner at Fusion VC, Israel’s most active preseed investor. He cofounded Fusion seven years ago with Guy Katsovich, a longtime friend and fellow officer from Israel’s signal intelligence Unit 8200. They built an accelerator program that invests in early-stage Israeli startups aiming to break into the US market. 

Fusion has invested in more than 120 startups and recently completed its 14th accelerator cohort, which included workshops on fundraising, go-to-market strategies, and a bootcamp across the leading global tech hubs of Tel Aviv, Silicon Valley, New York, and LA.  

While acknowledging that this past year has been incredibly challenging for Israeli entrepreneurs and founders, Vardi noted that historically, Israel’s economy has shown remarkable recovery after times of war, often followed by a surge in innovation and investment. 

This pattern occurred after the second Intifada in the early 2000s and the following financial downturn. After every challenging era, the Startup Nation emerged stronger, with new technologies and successful companies. 

Despite the current challenges, Fusion sponsored tickets for its portfolio companies and led a delegation of 15 Israeli startup founders to the IAC Summit. 

“It was inspiring to witness the community come together after such a challenging year,” Vardi said. “The summit agenda featured a powerful blend of stories from Israeli and American influencers, including celebrities, politicians, Olympic champions, social media figures, business leaders and even IDF heroes.”

Pull out quote: “After October 7, I see Israel’s Startup Nation not only maintaining its position as a global innovation hub but also continuing to thrive, lead on the global stage, and deliver excellence as we know it.”

Another attendee, Avivit Ohana, is founder and CEO of ELI (Entrepreneurship Leadership Israel), an organization equipping the next generation of Jewish business leaders with the skills, connections and mentorship necessary to succeed in the global business ecosystem while strengthening their connection to Israel and their Jewish identity.

During her time in the US, she developed partnerships with universities, Jewish high schools and organizations, tech companies and community leaders. US-Israel relations are the glue which helps facilitate her mission to foster a global community that merges Jewish identity with leadership development and business success. 

It was Ohana’s second time attending the IAC, and her impression was extremely positive.

“After October 7, I see Israel’s Startup Nation not only maintaining its position as a global innovation hub but also continuing to thrive, lead on the global stage, and deliver excellence as we know it,” she said. 

“The challenges Israel faces — both internally and externally — often spur greater innovation. I predict we’ll see even more groundbreaking advancements. Beyond technology, there will be a stronger emphasis on leadership and values, inspiring more young Jewish entrepreneurs worldwide to engage with Israel’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which is at the heart of ELI’s mission.”

Climate Week

Many Israeli entrepreneurs and investors attended Climate Week, which included over 1,000 events in New York — from industry-specific events in areas such as agritech to topics adjacent to climate like gender and poverty. 

Niv Calderon, founder of Periodic Ventures, a hands-on business accelerator for startups, offering with a network of investors and partners in the US, noted that climate-tech is the most important and also the most diverse sector because so many areas are climate related. 

This includes how we build batteries, how we build houses, how we improve the air with carbon capture, how we generate and store energy, how we safeguard our water, how we make our clothes, and how we produce our food. 

Calderon said that Israeli entrepreneurs should come to New York twice a year, for Tech Week and Climate Week. “You’ll have many more meetings, much more opportunity, and much more unexpected results.”

Another attendee was Daniela Kandel, who founded the Evergreen Innovation Platform. This initiative brings transformative climate technologies to smallholder farmers, who are the most vulnerable part of our global food system.

“I believe that we will continue to see robust growth in Israel’s tech ecosystem, and I believe we will continue to see climate tech and deep tech investments increasing substantially,” Kandel said. 

“As global demands for sustainable solutions increase, Israeli innovation is at the forefront, especially in areas addressing water scarcity, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.”

Kalderon predicted that agritech will play an essential role within this climate-focused framework, especially for Israel. 

“Furthermore, in line with the global shift towards impact-driven investment, we can expect more capital to flow into Israel’s agritech sector. This investment trend will likely be complemented by increased public-private partnerships that can help scale solutions rapidly.” 

Avi Feldman, managing partner at Mobilion Ventures, a sustainable mobility fund that invests in solutions for vehicles and transportation, new materials, circular economy in vehicles, recycling materials, and recycling batteries, also participated in the major Israel-focused event during Climate Week where a delegation of close to 20 startups at different stages showcased their solutions. It was spearheaded by the Israeli Economic Mission in New York, the Israel Export Institute and PLANETech, the innovation community of the Israeli and global climate-tech ecosystem.

“The idea was to promote our startups and to create collaboration between Israeli startups and professionals from our network who are attending in order to further collaboration,” Feldman said.

Another active investor who participated was Shmuel Kedmi, CEO and founder of NetZero Tech Ventures, which invests in climate and energy tech in Israel. 

“The past 24 months have been exceptionally challenging for the Israeli tech ecosystem, firstly due to political unrest and then followed by the outbreak of the October 7 multi-front war. However, we’ve been inspired by the resilience and ingenuity of Israeli society and economy,” Kedmi said. 

“As we approach a potential resolution to the war, we believe the Israeli economy, and more particularly the tech ecosystem, will likely see a rapid surge in investments. We already see a broad interest from potential partners in promising startups with deep-tech solutions that will be investment targets for the big international players.”

Kedmi noted that we are witnessing “the emergence of venture capital practices within the defense-tech sector, which is a notable shift from the past.”

He also predicted that dual-use energy tech solutions are likely to attract significant interest, such as off-grid solutions and technologies designed to adapt to extreme climate conditions, as well as addressing climate-related challenges like wildfires. 

“The fact that Israeli technologies play a key role in Israel’s successes on the battlefield is expected to significantly boost investor confidence in the quality of Israeli technologies across various sectors, ultimately contributing to the growth of the high-tech sector,” Kedmi told ISRAEL21c.

Among the recurring themes at these conferences was Israel’s resilience and presence at global events. Though we are living through challenging times both politically and economically, these attendees highlighted the long-term prospects of the Startup Nation.

Jonathan “Yoni” Frenkel is a LinkedIn ghostwriter, content marketing strategist, creator and founder of YKC Media.

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