Dror Bin, CEO at Israel Innovation Authority
(Video: Sinay David)
“We had to deal with a war that broke upon us with no indication before,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority. “But from the point of view of Israeli high tech, there were many new challenges, as many people were called to army duty. We estimate something like 10 to 15% of the workforce were called up in the first weeks of the war.”
Bin was speaking at Tech TLV, where investors and startups gathered to celebrate Israeli tech amid its ongoing war with Hamas. According to Bin, hundreds of early-stage companies were caught in the middle of funding rounds and couldn’t conclude their rounds as the war broke out.
“We very quickly realized that hundreds of early-stage companies, all of them with amazing innovation and disruptive technologies, are finding it very difficult to raise funds in the middle of the war and they are in danger of being shut down in the next six months,” he continued. “And this is just to mention a few of the challenges. But above all, Israeli entrepreneurs and CEOs are very resilient and they continue to deliver.”
The Israel Innovation Authority launched a new $100 million bridging fund helping create a cushion for Startup Nation. He confirmed that $50 million has already been distributed to 100 early-stage companies in need of funding.
“Each one of them is the pearls and gems of Israeli tech,” he concluded. “And I call upon investors in the local tech industry and the global tech industry to search for these companies and invest in them. This is a way to support Israel.”
You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.
