Dovi Frances, the founding partner of the investment fund Group 11, presented at the Accountant General Conference of All Generations at the Finance Ministry, held at Binyanei HaUma in Jerusalem, an optimistic vision for Israel’s position as a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence. The Israeli-American investor highlighted Israel’s unique potential while noting the need to approve the establishment of a national headquarters for accelerating artificial intelligence under the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as the accompanying budget for building supercomputing and computational infrastructure in Israel, following the recommendations of the Nagel Committee and earlier discussions on the subject.
Frances referred to data demonstrating Israel’s potential: "We are 0.4% of the world’s population, and we lead 20% of global innovation. We have 350 international R&D centers, and 10% of our workforce in high-tech contributes 18–20% to GDP." Frances also noted that 15–25% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Jewish or Israeli, and that Israel currently has 46 unicorns—companies valued at over one $ billion —the highest rate in the world relative to its population.
Frances presented the recommendations of the Nagel Committee for a national artificial intelligence program built on four pillars: The establishment of a national AI headquarters with a budget allowing competitive salaries for a professional team, the construction of an Israeli supercomputer with an investment of 24 billion NIS, opening government databases for AI development, and a revolution in the education system to train a new generation of AI engineers and scientists. "If you believe in God, you believe in superhuman intelligence—superhuman intelligence is already embedded in us, in our DNA, and it is destined to arrive soon in our days."
Frances also provided a comparison with Israel’s neighbors: "The United Arab Emirates, where only 12% of the population was born in the country, has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence in recent years. Saudi Arabia has a single-digit number of unicorns compared to Israel’s 46." Frances stressed that the proposed investment in Israel of 24 billion NIS is about 3% of the total investment in the Emirates in recent years. "That’s like 2.5 squadrons of F-35s—a relatively small investment that could yield tremendous results. The time has come to roll up our sleeves, join forces, and turn artificial intelligence in Israel into something sustainable. Israel can lead the global artificial intelligence revolution and become a world AI superpower," he concluded.
Dovi Frances is the founding partner of Group 11, a venture capital fund based in Los Angeles, the founder of The Institute at Ben-Gurion University—the national institution for advancing artificial intelligence in Israel—and the author of the bestseller Introduction to Victory. His funds manage fair-value investments of over $1.4 billion and focus on category-defining AI companies. The fund was recognized as the best-performing fund in the United States in 2024 by PREQIN and ranked third globally in performance by the HEC Paris–Dow Jones global ranking. This year, the fund was also chosen by TIME magazine as one of the leading venture capital funds in America.