The Land of Startups | DiePress.com

Who are the technology unicorns in Israel. ✒

Not only does Israel have the highest number of start-ups relative to population in the world, it also has successful technology companies. At the end of February, the Tech-Aviv Founders Club counted 98 startups with Israeli founders who are considered unicorns – worth more than $1 billion. Together, these startups are worth $275.43 billion.

Approximately 40 of the technology companies on the Tech Aviv list are based in Israel, many of which were also founded in other countries or moved to the United States after some time. Tech-Aviv only lists companies that have not yet gone public. Otherwise, the list of heavyweights like data security firm Imperva would be even longer.

For comparison: there were 179 such rhinos across Europe at the end of last year. The population of Israel is about 9.364 million, the population of the European Union is about 450 million, and if you add the United Kingdom, there are more than half a billion.

The top-rated startups by Israeli founders have names like Rapyd, Deel, Wiz, and Tipalti and are especially popular in sectors like fintech and cybersecurity. Start-up funding in the previous year also confirms this picture, in no other sector have investors invested more capital in Israel than in IT infrastructure, security technologies, and financial technology. According to the Israel Innovation Authority, sectors such as food technology are also on the rise.

seat outside. There are several reasons why many Israeli startups are based in the United States. When startups go public, they mostly do so in the United States. In 2021 alone, some 21 Israeli Wall Street technology companies went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Israeli companies are also strongly represented on the NASDAQ stock exchange, for example, due to their preference for US markets. But proximity to investors and customers can also play a role, because the United States of America is a leader in the technology sector in particular. ⫻

(“Die Presse,” print edition, May 14, 2023)