The war in Gaza has hurt the interconnected American-Israeli tech ecosystem, but there’s still opportunity for growth, say entrepreneurs and experts.
On the day of the October 7 terrorist attack, Sigal Gafni, an entrepreneur and resident of the southern Israeli town of Arad, was at the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) summit in D.C.
“When I returned to Israel, it was immediately clear to me that my business will now face a period where I won’t be able to work,” she said.
Gafni predicts that the war will impact all Israeli businesses exporting hi-tech services to the U.S.
A part of the U.S.-Israel tech ecosystem, Cornell Tech was launched in 2017 in cooperation with the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, supported by more than $600 million in gifts from various donors. This massive land-grant institution spans 12 acres on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
“The events of October 7th shocked our tech community,” said Fernando Gómez-Baquero Ph.D., Director of Runway and Spinouts, an academic commercialization program. The initiative manages a portfolio of startups with investments from the Jacobs Technion Cornell Institute.
According to Gómez-Baquero, 16 out of 104 Cornell Tech’s startups have roots in Israel.
Israel’s tech industry is facing numerous challenges, such as cyber attacks and workforce reductions as employees are mobilized for military service.
“We, in Israel, are every day under the threat of cyber attacks, which has become an integral part of the war as terrorists wage war against us,” says Sigal Gafni.
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