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Israel is investing 113 million shekels (about $35.5 million) in its first laboratory dedicated to bio-devices and biochips. 

The December announcement by the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) marks a significant step into the growing field of bio-convergence, underlining the country’s intention of becoming a global leader in this relatively new approach to healthcare and scientific research.

What exactly is bio-convergence, and why does it matter?

Bio-convergence brings together experts from different fields of study to create novel solutions to a wide variety of needs: in medicine, environment, energy, agriculture, food, security and more.

At the heart of this field are biochips and bio-devices – sophisticated tools that can perform complex biological processes on a microscopic scale. 

Through a process called microfluidics, these devices can manipulate individual cells and measure changes with molecular precision, essentially shrinking what once required massive laboratories into a chip the size of a fingernail.

The new bio-convergence laboratory will serve as a hub for Israeli companies, streamlining their development processes and making biological production more cost-effective, precise and accessible. 

It’s also expected to attract foreign investment and top talent while fostering international collaborations.

What bio-convergence can accomplish

In short, bio-convergence is a very big game-changer in a very small package. That conclusion is reflected in the growing interest and investment in the emerging field. 

As of 2024, the market size for bio-convergence in the global healthcare industry alone is estimated to be around $140-144 billion, with expectations to reach over $300 billion by 2034, according to a report from November.

In the healthcare vertical, bio-convergence technologies promise to accelerate drug development and improve diagnostics, among other applications. 

But healthcare is hardly the only vertical in which bio-convergence is more and more likely to boost those projected numbers.

In the environment sector, bio-devices can, for example, generate electricity from waste while simultaneously purifying contaminated water through bacterial processes. 

Bio-convergence also holds the potential to revolutionize monitoring systems for people, animals, plants, water, air and soil.

An investment in the future

Already in Israel, the bioconvergence industry is chugging along, having raised $994 million in funding since 2020, according to Startup Nation Central. Per SNC data, the industry saw its greatest funding peak at $233.4M raised in 2021 (Israel’s greatest year in high tech funding in history), and saw a considerable drop in 2023 with only $24.4M.

However, 2024 saw the Israeli bioconvergence industry bounce back somewhat, as it raked in $75M — more than triple the funding it received the prior year. It’s still too early to tell what 2025 holds in store for the industry’s funding, but given the IIA’s investment in the new lab, it is likely to continue on a more positive trend.

A large portion of the several dozen Israeli startups operating in the space are in the health technology sphere, including immune system solutions developer MeMed Diagnostics (which was founded in 2009 and has raised $223.43M to date), solid cancer treatment device company Alpha Tau Medical (founded in 2016 with $145M raised), and chronic disease treatment developer BiomX (founded in 2015 with $131.5 raised).

In light of the above, the new Israeli bio-convergence lab is a push to position Israel at the forefront of the bio-convergence industry. 

As IIA CEO Dror Bin puts it: “This initiative will solidify Israel’s global standing.”

“This lab isn’t just an investment in infrastructure – it’s an investment in our future,” he continues. 

“This partnership will equip Israeli companies with the advanced tools and infrastructure needed to pioneer biochip and bio-device projects locally – in medicine, energy and agriculture — from concept to reality, without reliance on costly international services,” says Bin.

The lab is part of Israel’s broader National Bio-Convergence Plan, which was launched in 2022. The program focuses on building infrastructure and developing capabilities in areas where Israel has strengths, integrating biology with engineering disciplines such as electronics, artificial intelligence, physics, computer science, nanotechnology, material science and advanced genetic engineering.

Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel elaborated on the lab’s potential to advance scientific research.

“This is a strategic initiative that combines Israel’s relative advantage in high-tech and biotechnology and opens new opportunities in the fields of personalized medicine, advanced agriculture, and green energy,” she explained.

“The new laboratory marks a new chapter in the scientific story — a chapter where biology, engineering and artificial intelligence converge to create groundbreaking solutions with the potential to change the world and humanity as a whole.”

The post Why Israel is investing $35.5m in a bio-convergence lab  appeared first on ISRAEL21c.

The post Why Israel is investing $35.5m in a bio-convergence lab  appeared first on ISRAEL21c.

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