‘Corona showed it is possible to reduce time and distance’
“The Corona crisis is a point in human history that has brought about dramatic change. It can be compared to the Industrial Revolution or the dot-com revolution."
By SIGAL BEN DAVIDDR. ETI LUZZATTO speaks with journalist Dany Cushmaro last week. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Dr. Eti Luzzatto spoke with journalist Dany Cushmaro at The Jerusalem Post Group 2021 Election Conference about the corona crisis as a turning point for business and its impact on the hi-tech industry and the periphery in Israel.“The Corona crisis is a point in human history that has brought about dramatic change. In my opinion, it can be compared to the Industrial Revolution or the dot-com revolution. The crisis illustrated that it is possible to reduce time and distance gaps, and with the combination of advanced technologies, change our lives. The pace and changes are rapid, especially in technology-intensive countries such as Israel. In 2020, Israel’s hi-tech sector was able to raise more money, receive more investments, and issue more IPOs (initial public offering) of technology companies than in the previous five years combined.”The Luzzatto Group, the leading intellectual property group in Israel, is a home for innovation, technology, progress, and business, and Dr. Luzzatto is very active in promoting the periphery. She believes that the change that corona has brought to the world of employment will contribute greatly to this population.“As a result of the possibility of reducing time and distance, there is an opening for advanced options in the periphery that has been neglected in many aspects, compared to the center of the country. For example, 76% of Israeli hi-tech has been concentrated between Tel Aviv and Herzliya, and just 3% is in Israel’s South. The periphery has not taken a real part in it, but now a change is possible through a combination of remote work. One can live far away and work from home, at least part of the week, with a hybrid work model. The state should compensate the residents accordingly. In localities near Beersheba, the residents receive tax benefits, which can be an important factor in the considerations of families moving to the area.”Regarding the impact of corona on patents and intellectual property, Dr. Luzzatto noted that there is a great boom, and this is also evident in last year’s investments in Israeli hi-tech.“The biggest and most significant players are the large companies that conduct research and development, and they drive the market. There is a robust industry here, and a great deal of money is invested in it, especially foreign money, with Israel up 30% in hi-tech investments. We are speaking of billions of dollars. The patent registration is rising. In my estimation, the field of digital medicine will experience the biggest leap as the world is headed in that direction, with an emphasis on remote medicine. In the future, everything will be done through remote diagnosis, which will be broadcast and sent to experts in Israel and around the world for analysis. Medicine will become personalized and will experience the greatest changes.”
