An Update from the Startup Nation Central Board of Directors

Dear friends,

After thirteen years, the Board of Directors of Startup Nation Central (SNC) is updating our operating model. To remain effective, SNC must evolve just like any startup or company. Israel’s technology ecosystem has matured immensely since SNC’s founding thirteen years ago, but today Israel faces new and complicated challenges in managing and expanding its global business relationships. 

To meet this moment, SNC will wind down some activities to focus on the important work of innovation diplomacy.

When we established SNC in 2013, our mission was to connect global investors, multinationals, non-profits, and governments with the Israeli innovation ecosystem. At that time, annual private investment in Israeli technology was around $2.3 billion, and while Israeli innovation was recognized, access points were limited.

Today, annual private investment has reached nearly $17 billion. Israeli technology is relied upon by many of the world’s most important multinationals and governments, with over 440 multinational corporations operating R&D centers here.

We salute the entrepreneurs, investors, non-profits, media organizations, and others responsible for the Israeli innovation ecosystem’s extraordinary success. They have collectively built a resilient ecosystem that is the engine of Israel’s economy, weathering wars, a global pandemic, economic swings, and rapidly shifting technologies.

For our part, we have spent over a decade helping multinational corporations establish and expand R&D activity in Israel and deepening their engagement with Israeli technology and talent. We served as a crucial bridge between international decision-makers and the local ecosystem. Our Startup Nation Finder platform provided global visibility, and we hosted thousands of delegations—including heads of state, ministers, and corporate executives—many of whom were engaging with Israeli technology for the very first time.

Given the Israeli ecosystem’s maturity, SNC must now mature, focus, pivot, and realign to continue adding value.

In our redoubled innovation diplomacy efforts, we will target key markets including the Gulf, India, and U.S. states. SNC was proud to have hosted the first Israeli business conferences in Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAE in 2021 and 2022. As Israel enters a new and challenging era in foreign affairs, pursuing an innovation diplomacy strategy is essential to protect and ultimately expand the Abraham Accords. Beyond the Accords, Israel needs to be deeply active in more markets around the world than ever, and we intend to help make those connections, providing distinctive value to Israeli tech and to Israel.

To support this focused mandate, SNC will operate with a smaller, more specialized team. This was not an easy decision, but we believe it is necessary to move SNC forward.

Our building at 28 Lilienblum Street in Tel Aviv will remain a core platform, configured as a resource for the ecosystem—providing space for partner initiatives, sector nonprofits, delegations, working groups, and high-level convenings.

We are immensely proud of our success and deeply grateful to the many employees and partners who have contributed to making the Startup Nation a strong, vibrant, and essential contributor to global security and prosperity.

We will continue to work closely with founders, investors, corporates, governments, and partners in Israel and around the world, and we look forward to sharing additional details about our initiatives and programming in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

The Board of Directors of Startup Nation Central