Brought together by war, defense-tech partnerships put startups on front lines |
The pairing of Israel’s tech and defense sectors seems like a match made in heaven.
Yet it was not until war forced the two industries into a shotgun wedding that the relationship began to flourish, transforming both the local startup ecosystem and the military’s innovation pipeline.
Driven by pressing military threats, the once-casual acquaintance between young tech companies and the Israel Defense Forces has rapidly evolved into a core pillar of Israel’s defense strategy, with hundreds of startups now supplying capabilities to meet the army’s real-time needs.
“For years, Israel was known worldwide as a ‘cyber nation.’ Today, we have evolved into a true ‘defense tech nation,'” said Defense Ministry director general Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram. “Our innovation portfolio now spans the full spectrum of advanced capabilities: aerial defense systems, unmanned vehicles, electronic warfare, quantum-resistant communications, intelligence and surveillance systems, cyber defense, and space technologies.”
Baram was one of dozens of defense experts who spoke at last week’s second annual DefenseTech Summit, held at Tel Aviv University.
Organized by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development, the two-day event offered a rare platform for generals and entrepreneurs to connect, with one message emerging repeatedly: Israel’s defense establishment is increasingly turning to its startup ecosystem for innovation, including tech initially designed for civilian use.
The dalliance between the Defense Ministry and the private tech sector can be traced back to 2019, when the government launched the Innofense program. The program identifies companies whose products have potential battlefield applications and supplies them with early funding, including initial grants of NIS 200,000 ($61,000), to accelerate development.
The model proved useful, but after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, it became essential.
Today, the ministry works with more than 300 startups, a third of which have been actively contributing to the war effort. Many of them involve dual-use technologies that were not designed for military use, but that the military could still use.
The phenomenon helped spur the launch of Kela Technologies, which was founded in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 attack to address the need for a more flexible platform to quickly integrate commercial innovations into military systems.
“We are at war — we........