In Oct the employment organisation press reported that Israeli cybertech startup Sygnia was acquired past times Singapore’s billion-dollar Temasek Holdings for an estimated $250 million. The render for the owners is over l times the initial investment, according to Israeli paper Haaretz. And final year, the Israeli society Mobileye, a pioneer inwards autonomous auto technology, was purchased past times Intel for a whopping $15.3 billion. Tech startups may non live the starting fourth dimension affair that comes to heed when many people intend of State of Israel — the country’s political strife is what makes headlines. But Israel’s achievements inwards innovation in addition to entrepreneurship are remarkable past times whatsoever mensurate for a tiny, embattled land of 8.8 ane K 1000 people that has alone existed for seventy years.
At the recent Wharton State of Israel Conference, speakers in addition to participants highlighted Israel’s contributions to technology, science, medicine in addition to agriculture, every bit good every bit its entrepreneurial spirit which they said helps transform discoveries into real-world solutions.
The conference was kicked off amongst remarks from Ambassador Dani Dayan, consul full general of State of Israel inwards New York in addition to an Israeli-Argentine entrepreneur. Speaking via Skype, Dayan recalled how, when he was CEO of the Israeli startup Elad Systems inwards the 1990s, he noticed a tidings special nigh the society side past times side door to his, Mirabilis. It had sold its excogitation ICQ, the world’s starting fourth dimension minute messaging software, to AOL for $407 million.
“I recall that I couldn’t believe that an American corporation paid $400 ane K 1000 dollars for an Israeli company…. But they did because ICQ was truly inwards those days a revolution inwards communicating: minute communications betwixt people far apart over the globe,” said Dayan.
Today, an acquisition of that size for an Israeli society is to a greater extent than commonplace, said Dayan. He noted that a novel “glass ceiling” was shattered final twelvemonth amongst Intel’s aforementioned acquisition of Mobileye. “Believe me, Mobileye volition revolutionize the world,” Dayan added.
Several participants cited Waze every bit an outstanding illustration of Israeli innovation. This GPS navigation software app, founded past times an Israeli society inwards the mid-2000s in addition to originally called FreeMap Israel, connects drivers amongst ane or thence other thence they tin contribute information — either passively or actively — nigh traffic, route structure in addition to other hazards. Google bought Waze for $966 ane K 1000 inwards 2013 to add together social information to its mapping business, in addition to it is right away used worldwide.
“I intend that Israeli men in addition to women truly dream of existence the side past times side Bill Gates or to institute the side past times side Google or Microsoft.”–Ambassador Dani Dayan
Speaker Avner Mendelson, the president in addition to CEO of Bank Leumi USA, introduced himself past times stating that he isn’t personally an innovator: He joked that every bit a banker in addition to old management consultant, he represented “the antithesis of innovation.” However, his bank’s clients include many tech firms: 30% of Israeli engineering scientific discipline companies banking company amongst Bank Leumi inwards New York. Mendelson also noted that Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, owns a per centum of the bank. “That’s every bit unopen every bit I volition acquire to running a unicorn,” he quipped.
How to Grow a Tree inwards the Desert
Mendelson in addition to then spoke nigh a much older, landmark Israeli innovation that he personally admires: drip irrigation. Currently used inwards several countries including Israel, the U.S., Commonwealth of Australia in addition to Egypt, the engineering scientific discipline involves delivering precise amounts of H2O in addition to nutrients straight to a plant’s root zone, drastically reducing H2O usage. Drip irrigation tin trim back a farm’s H2O consumption past times every bit much every bit 60% in addition to growth crop yield past times 90% compared amongst conventional irrigation methods, according to MIT News.
Mendelson told the storey of how the Polish-Israeli engineer in addition to inventor Simcha Blass had discovered, inwards the 1930s, a large, lone tree blooming inwards a desert village amongst no apparent source of water. Digging nigh the tree he discovered a broken H2O piping that had been providing a slow, steady drip onto the tree’s roots. That gave Blass the thought for a completely novel sort of irrigation system. In 1965, he became a founder of the Netafim Irrigation Company.
Netafim is notwithstanding a household holler inwards Israel, in addition to “today inwards the world” for irrigation, said Mendelson. He also referenced final year’s $1.5 billion bargain inwards which Netafim sold 80% of the society to Mexican industrial grouping Mexichem, which he cited every bit or thence other successful Israeli exit. Netafim’s CEO said he expects the theatre to profits from Mexichem’s presence inwards Latin America, piece the Mexican society volition live able to expand into markets similar Republic of Republic of India where Netafim has a foothold, according to Reuters.
Mendelson commented that drip irrigation, which he called “really world-changing,” was an outstanding illustration of innovation “before the iPhone, earlier our modern ‘startup nation,’” referring to the bestselling 2011 mass Startup Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle.
Wharton professor of operations, information in addition to decisions Morris Cohenagreed that drip irrigation is “an amazing, unproblematic but vivid technology.” He has personally visited Netafim’s facilities to uncovering their operations, in addition to recalled that a managing director in that location had predicted that ane 24-hour interval the society would win a Nobel Prize for combating the world’s increasingly dire nutrient in addition to H2O shortages. “Fifty percent of all the H2O inwards the globe is wasted, in addition to drip irrigation solves that problem,” said Cohen.
Cohen volition see Netafim again, addition 10 other notable Israeli companies, this Jan accompanied past times a grouping of Wharton students. The students volition investigate how startups inwards State of Israel grow to move world-class competitive global companies, including how they create exercise their furnish chains, processes in addition to technologies.
“Fifty percent of all the H2O inwards the globe is wasted, in addition to drip irrigation solves that problem.”–Morris Cohen
One of Cohen’s stops volition live ISCAR, which he called “one of the leading companies inwards the world” but ane that is piffling known to the public. He explained that it makes components that acquire into automated manufacturing tools, in addition to was a target for investment past times Warren Buffett. (Berkshire Hathaway acquired ISCAR inwards 2006.) “If you lot move to their campus inwards State of Israel … you lot volition non come across to a greater extent than sophisticated automation for production anywhere inwards the world,” said Cohen.
SodaStream, a carbonated drinkable engineering scientific discipline company, is or thence other Israeli theatre that Cohen feels his students volition acquire from past times visiting. One argue is the ethnic variety of the workforce: SodaStream employs Palestinians, Bedouins in addition to Israelis. “One of the things we’ll exercise [on our tour] is convey a panel of those workers, describing what it’s similar to run together inwards ane company,” Cohen said.
Building Israeli-Palestinian Partnerships
Attendee Yonatan Sela drew a parallel betwixt SodaStream in addition to his startup society SoCo — curt for “Seeds of Collaboration” — which he said is an Israeli-Palestinian partnership. SoCo makes tahini — the sesame seed glue that is a staple of many Middle Eastern diets — in addition to aims to popularize the nutrient amongst American consumers. He noted that the company’s tahini was “perfected for 5 generations … past times a Palestinian family.”
The “collaboration” chemical element of SoCo’s holler refers to the fact that the society supports MEET (Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow), a nonprofit that connects immature Israeli in addition to Palestinian students through employment organisation endeavors. Every 2,000 SoCo jars sold helps fund a startup at MEET, according to the company’s website.
“The to a greater extent than nosotros tin seed partnerships similar this one, I intend the to a greater extent than normalized they volition move inwards a house where the grade of cooperation is alone going down,” Sela said. “The whole concept is to live nonpolitical in addition to to only demo that you lot tin convey people … collaborating for their ain economical good.”
Some speakers in addition to participants focused on Israel’s intellectual achievements. Adda Grimberg, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said her favorite Israeli innovator is Zvi Laron, a Romanian-Israeli Holocaust survivor whom she described every bit “an icon” inwards the acre of growth disorders, endocrinology in addition to diabetes. The physician was the identifier of what is right away termed Laron syndrome, a status inwards which the patient has growth failure due to mutations inwards the growth hormone receptor. Laron uncovered the machinery of the disease.
In a personal conversation amongst Laron nigh the class of his life, Grimberg learned that he had truly done his endocrine grooming inwards the U.S., at Massachusetts General Hospital, in addition to had received many project offers but chose to render to Israel. He told Grimberg that he “wanted to demo the globe that skilful things tin come upwards from a piffling country.”
During Ambassador Dayan’s talk, he shared his views on why State of Israel has been thence successful. He stated that Israeli social club is pervaded past times “an ingenuity, a sense of innovation,” but that solitary is non sufficient. “Innovation past times itself cannot explicate the economical miracle, the revolution that State of Israel underwent,” he said. He contrasted State of Israel amongst the old Soviet Union, which he said also possessed bully minds inwards mathematics, physics in addition to many other areas, yet that reason did non survive.
Israel reflects a powerful combination of innovation in addition to entrepreneurship, inwards Dayan’s view. “I intend that Israeli men in addition to women truly dream of existence the side past times side Bill Gates or to institute the side past times side Google or Microsoft.” As a result, a large seat out of entrepreneurial initiatives are continually underway. “Even when a modest per centum of these initiatives succeed — in addition to or thence of them succeed inwards a large agency — that explains the economical miracle.”
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