In a special interview with Political Science, Dr. Alon Stopel, Chair of the Israel Innovation Authority, reveals how Israel is leading the global technological revolution through three central vectors. From artificial intelligence to bio-convergence and quantum computing—Stopel explains why "we are in a revolution that is only at its beginning," the strategic significance of a quantum-supercomputer, and why Israel must grow large companies.
Let's start with the basics—what is the Israel Innovation Authority, and what is its role?
Dr. Alon Stopel: The Israel Innovation Authority is a statutory government authority established in 2017, incorporating everything that was previously under the Chief Scientist. It is essentially the government’s tool to generate economic growth through research and development, support areas with market failures, and create long-term economic value for the State of Israel and its citizens.
The Authority has three main pillars: The first is Venture Creation—growing start-ups in areas where there are market failures. We participate at very early stages, from ideation to pre-seed, seed, and Round-A funding. The second pillar is the growth of foundational technologies—technological infrastructures and technology consortia in various fields. The third is removing regulatory barriers to create a competitive environment and help start-ups implement their technologies.
How was the transition from the defense sector to the Innovation Authority? That’s a significant shift from a focused protection world to such a broad one.
In the last years of my career, about eight years as Chief Scientist at Elbit Systems, and before that 15 years at the IMOD’s Planning and Budgeting Division, I was in organizations that took a very broad view of what’s happening globally. In defense, most products are dual-use—the same drone swarm technology can serve both military purposes and precision agriculture. Wearable electronics can be used by athletes, healthcare, and soldiers in the field.
Let’s talk numbers—how did the war affect the Israeli high-tech industry?
I have to say the Israeli industry showed extraordinary courage. We had a slogan: "Start-Up Nation Central"—Israeli high-tech delivers, no matter what. Companies continued to deliver exceptionally despite the war.
When the war broke out, we realized there were companies in the process of raising funds with less than six months of cash left. Together with the Finance Ministry and the Science Ministry, about NIS 400 million were allocated to the Authority to support such companies. In four months, we injected NIS 1.2 billion into companies to keep them alive.
It’s important to understand that Israeli high-tech is a significant economic engine—about 11.5% of the workforce generates 36% of the state’s income tax revenue, nearly 20% of GDP, and over 50% of exports.
What about investments? Is the trend improving?
In 2023, we had an investment rate of $8 billion, a decline taking us five years back. But in 2024, we finished with about $10 billion invested in Israeli start-ups, and the trend already shows growth according to the first half of 2025.
Looking into the data, most investments today are in cybersecurity and enterprise software—60–70% of the money goes to these areas. Our challenge is to attract investments to other sectors like robotics, defense-tech, pharmaceuticals, and medical computing.
Let’s talk about the technological revolution—which are the three vectors to watch?
The first is AI—we are talking about a revolution that is only at its beginning. Currently, AI algorithms are much better search engines, but ultimately they will provide support for all kinds of advisors—economic, medical, accountants. This will allow much stronger decision-making processes and simulations.
In development, Israel is doing quite well, among the world leaders. The Authority published a tender about six months ago for a powerful computer to serve the Israeli market. The Nimbus group won, and by the end of the year, the computer will become operational. This will give start-ups and researchers access and affordable pricing for computing resources.
What is the second vector?
Bio-convergence—the combination of biology with other technologies like computing or electronics. This combination provides a leap forward in many areas: Drug development using cells synthesized on chips instead of animal testing, rapid and reliable production of alternative foods, organ growth, and higher-yield agriculture.
We are still at the beginning. None of us buys steaks from alternative proteins routinely yet because prices are still high. But as soon as technological breakthroughs occur, we will begin to see it and observe the impact. This will also address population growth versus the reduction of agricultural land.
And the third?
The quantum revolution—we are in the midst of the second quantum revolution. The basic unit is the qubit, which will allow manipulation of numbers in much larger and faster ways. Instead of two states, 0 and 1, we will have a qubit that seemingly has infinite states.
There is a threat: This technology could break the algorithms we currently use to encrypt our data. Therefore, post-quantum algorithms are needed.
Israel has significant activity in this field. We have companies developing qubits across the main technologies—superconductors, cold atoms, trapped ions. We also have companies developing compilers and software environments for working with quantum computers, and quantum encryption. Israel is one of the main players globally in this area.
Why do countries invest so much money in technology?
There are two main reasons. First, governments understand that high-tech is a growth engine. The Israeli story of "Start-Up Nation" has been published worldwide, and many countries invest money to emulate the Israeli model. London, Paris, Berlin, and Asian countries have all grown in recent years.
Second, unlike globalization, countries understand that in some fields they want to maintain independence, even if it’s not economically efficient. The strongest example is the U.S. CHIPS Act and the billions invested there. Europeans have also invested €47 billion.
What is the Israeli dream?
I would be happy if Israel could grow more large companies. We are experts in growing companies, and a significant portion of them are sold to major corporations abroad. This year, we have two major deals—Waze-Google and CyberArk.
But our dream should be a full company that not only develops but also manufactures and sells worldwide—a strong corporation of ten thousand employees, Israeli, producing. Manufacturing provides employment also for non-tech professionals, allows opening sites in peripheral areas, and is part of our national security.
In summary—what is your recommendation?
These two points—that high-tech is a growth engine and that countries invest to maintain independence—should generate reflection here in Israel: Where do we stand? We are in a complex period, but this requires rethinking—does the Authority’s activity so far suffice, or should it be expanded in scope and to other areas?
How to reach the Israel Innovation Authority?
Finally, Stopel notes: "The Authority constantly tries to promote itself. All details are on our website, phone numbers, and emails. We organize events, roundtables, and attend conferences. Ultimately, the Authority’s goal is to create economic value in Israel through investment in technology and research—not to support studies that end in newspaper publications. The process is competitive, and we select the most suitable proposals."