Israeli Automotive Tech Transforming Global Mobility

As the automotive industry shifts towards autonomy, connectivity, and increased operational efficiency, automotive OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and top-tier suppliers are leaning on technology to remain competitive. Israel’s tech ecosystem, with over 7,000 startups, has positioned itself as a global leader in innovation, offering solutions that address pressing challenges – including in the automotive sector.  

We recently spearheaded a delegation of Israeli startups to Germany and Luxembourg, bridging Israel’s innovation with leading global automotive and mobility multinationals. The roadshow highlighted Israel’s capacity to address the industry’s most pressing challenges through groundbreaking technologies, from AI and predictive maintenance to machine learning and big data.

Israeli companies are redefining possibilities, enhancing efficiency, safety, and user experience through cutting-edge solutions, and Startup Nation Central supports this mission. 

Challenges Facing the Automotive Industry 

The shift towards connected, autonomous, and electric vehicles brings unique challenges to automotive multinationals, including: 

• Production Cycles: It typically takes several years for a new vehicle model to move from concept to market. This slow pace hinders quick adaptation to new technology trends. 

• R&D Costs: Autonomous driving, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and connectivity solutions require massive R&D investment, making rapid in-house development financially burdensome. 

• Integration: As OEMs attempt to integrate AI-driven systems like computer vision and voice recognition into vehicles, they face compatibility issues with existing production lines and software infrastructures. 

• Regulatory and Safety Standards: Autonomous systems and connected cars must meet stringent safety and regulatory standards, increasing the time and investment required for compliance. 

These challenges create a clear demand for external innovation partners that can deliver modular, tailored solutions without disrupting existing processes.  

OEMs, Tier-1 Suppliers, and Automotive Tech 

The automotive industry has long faced the challenge of integrating new technologies within traditional production models that are resource-intensive and time-consuming. The sector’s structure and scale mean that technological updates can take years to implement.  

As consumer demand grows for features like real-time navigation, autonomous driving, and connected services, large companies are under pressure to speed up innovation cycles. To achieve this, partnerships with agile startups offer OEMs and tier-1 suppliers’ access to advanced, adaptable solutions that accelerate time-to-market and maintain relevance in a rapidly evolving market. 

Israel’s Value Proposition: Agility, Innovation, and Proven Solutions 

Israel’s tech sector is globally recognized for its “impatient” approach to innovation, characterized by rapid prototyping, a bold approach to problem-solving, and adaptability. 

The technologies developed by Israeli startups are the building blocks for transformative solutions that enable autonomous navigation, predictive maintenance, connected systems, and enhanced safety.

Here’s a closer look at how these technologies are being applied and examples of Israeli companies making an impact and empowering automotive OEMs and top-tier suppliers to address critical challenges and lead the industry into the future:

Big Data and Machine Learning

Israeli startups are leveraging big data and ML to provide actionable insights, optimize vehicle performance, and enhance operational efficiency.

• Hailo: Enables smart edge technologies to reach their full potential by bridging the gap between current and future AI technologies. Its industry-leading edge AI processors offer high compute power with exceptional power and cost efficiency, capable of processing high-resolution videos and multiple neural network models in real time within small power and heat constraints. Hailo’s product portfolio includes AI accelerators, vision processors, standard modules, and a comprehensive software toolchain. Its patented dataflow architecture is used in hundreds of customer programs across diverse industries like automotive, security, and smart cities.
• Cybellum: Delivers a cybersecurity X-ray system for OEMs and manufacturers of automotive and medical devices, designed to continuously scan components throughout the production and integration process. With real-time monitoring and threat intelligence, Cybellum ensures that even deployed vehicles and IoMT products remain secure against new threats and vulnerabilities. Its technology provides the visibility, context, and flexibility needed to scale vulnerability management and compliance validation, ensuring that devices and vehicles stay safe and secure throughout their entire operational lifespan.

Sensing and Vision

Sensing and vision technologies are key to empowering vehicles with advanced perception capabilities, enabling safe and efficient navigation in complex driving environments.

• Foresight Automotive: Develops advanced stereoscopic vision systems for autonomous vehicles and other industries. Their technology enhances real-time navigation and obstacle detection using 3D perception. These products improve safety and efficiency in sectors such as agriculture, heavy machinery, and defense. Foresight’s systems are designed to work in various environmental conditions, providing accurate and reliable object detection and tracking.
• Tactile Mobility: Enhances smart and autonomous vehicles with advanced tactile sensing capabilities, allowing them to collect and process data that improves road safety and driving experiences. Their platform, available through software licensing and data services, sets a new standard in vehicle data, complementing visual and auditory systems. OEMs, mapping companies, road authorities, and insurers can use Tactile Mobility’s cloud-based analytics to create highly accurate SurfaceDNA HD maps, detailing roadway conditions for maintenance, hazard detection, and post-accident analysis.

Visual Layer is a platform to manage, explore and visualize massive visual datasets, which are essential for training vehicle perception and ADAS models.

 

Technical Solution:

Visual Layer specializes in visual data exploration and management through its advanced platform, allowing users to manage, explore, visualize, and search massive image and video datasets. Visual Layer is based on the popular open-source tool Fastdup, with 400,000 users worldwide and deployments with top brands such as Walmart and Apple. Common use cases include manufacturing, automotive, retail, and homeland security. The company serves government, defense, and Fortune 500 enterprises, enabling them to efficiently explore, manage, and extract insights from large volumes of visual data. 

Applications:

The unique technology allows automotive vendors to understand, gain insights, and find critical information in huge video datasets, providing a platform to manage, explore, and visualize massive visual datasets, which are critical for training vehicle perception and ADAS model. This addresses the growing need for reliable high quality visual data, which is essential for autonomous systems that can interpret and respond to complex driving environments

Business Impact:

Visual Layer allows visual data iteration 10x faster than standard solutions, significantly reducing data engineering, annotation, and model training costs.

Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance tools use AI and IoT to anticipate equipment failures, optimize servicing schedules, and enhance operational reliability.

• Augury: Develops AI and IoT-based solutions for monitoring machine and process health in industrial settings. Their technology improves machine reliability by providing insights into performance and potential issues. This approach helps reduce downtime and improve efficiency in manufacturing and other industrial processes. Augury’s system offers diagnostics and early warnings about machine health, assisting in identifying and addressing problems at their source. This enables more informed maintenance decisions and enhances safety and productivity in industrial operations.
• CARRAR: Offers a patented thermal management solution for electric vehicle (EV) batteries utilizing two-phase immersion technology, which effectively stabilizes battery temperature regardless of fluctuations caused by extreme climates, ultrafast charging, or rapid acceleration. This innovation enhances driving range, extends battery life, improves safety, and lowers the total cost of ownership for EVs. By promoting the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, Carrar’s technology plays a crucial role in advancing sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of EV batteries.
• Batteri: Provides energy storage solutions with enhanced monitoring capabilities, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of electric vehicle batteries.

Connected Systems

Connected systems enable seamless interactions between vehicles, drivers, and external infrastructure, creating safer, more personalized mobility experiences.

• Cognata: Specializes in providing advanced simulation software for autonomous and ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) vehicle development. Their platform supports the entire development process, including training, testing, validation, and certification, to accelerate the time to market for automated driving systems. Cognata offers a wide range of simulation products and services, including scenario-based ADAS testing, off-road AV simulation, and digital twin technology for urban planning and traffic analysis. These solutions cater to various industries, including defense, agriculture, mining, and smart cities, facilitating faster and more efficient deployment of autonomous technologies.

aiOla specializes in AI-powered platforms leveraging speech and voice recognition technology to address industry-specific challenges.  

Technical Solution:

aiOla’s advanced speech AI models are tailored to specific industries for accuracy and efficiency, achieving 95% accuracy and delivering performance that is 50% faster than competing models, all without requiring customer-provided voice samples.  

Applications:

aiOla streamlines Maintenance, Production, Quality Control, and Distribution workflows with speech-based automation, enhancing efficiency and compliance. Its platform supports use cases like daily checks, machine monitoring, shift and batch changeovers, and safety compliance, ensuring seamless operations. aiOla also supports 120 different languages and dialects to ensure seamless communication and operational consistency across diverse teams. 

Business Impact:

Backed by leading investors and significant funding, along with a strong research and engineering team, aiOla has become a key partner for major global automotive brands, OEMs, and fleet operators. The platform helps organizations optimize operations and make informed decisions at unprecedented speed. 

Bridging High-Potential Startups and Global Opportunities 

Startup Nation Central plays a vital role in connecting Israeli tech companies with global OEMs and automotive leaders, helping drive innovation on a global scale. Through strategic events, delegations, and its Finder platform, Startup Nation Central provides Israeli startups with visibility, access to valuable partnerships, and enhanced business pipeline.   

Our Global Partnership team and delegation of Israeli startups to Germany and Luxembourg connected groundbreaking automotive tech with leading OEMs and tier-1 suppliers to explore new pathways for collaboration, focusing on the future of the automotive and industrial sectors through innovations in AI, predictive maintenance, machine learning, and big data. 

Amid global economic challenges and local security concerns, this delegation connected startups with top OEMs and tier-1 suppliers, opening new avenues for partnerships and growth during a critical time. Through B2B meetings with key industry players, Israeli startups showcased advanced solutions that have the potential to redefine automotive operations and drive new levels of efficiency and safety and laid the groundwork for lasting partnerships and business growth in the global automotive market. 

With “Impatient Innovation” and a collaborative network of investors, engineers, and industry experts, Israel’s tech ecosystem is positioned to make a lasting impact, delivering the future of mobility through intelligent, adaptable, and resilient solutions.