CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News July 8, 2025
Intel Israel begins latest round of layoffs, including Kiryat Gat factory for first time. Hundreds expected to lose jobs as chip giant extends cuts beyond R&D hubs in Haifa and Petah Tikva. Read more
Intel offers up to 19 salaries to laid-off employees if they don’t fight firings. Workers who request a hearing risk losing special severance if they fail to convince management to reverse their dismissal. Read more
Why Nvidia’s new mega Israeli hub may eclipse Intel’s legacy. As the $4 trillion chipmaker expands, it relies on talent, not tax breaks, to outgrow old rivals. Read more
Red Dot Capital closes $320M fund to back early-growth Israeli tech. Finout, Stigg, Oligo, and Bria AI are among the first bets of the new fund as the VC scales AUM to $750M. Read more
Restore Medical secures $23M Series B to push forward novel heart failure therapy. The new funding will allow the Israeli startup to complete an ongoing feasibility study in Europe, where early results have shown what the company describes as encouraging long-term safety and efficacy data. Read more
Nvidia doubles down on Israel with multi-billion dollar mega campus. Move sets stage for Nvidia to surpass Intel as Israel’s largest private employer, with thousands more hires planned. Read more
Mapping Israeli quantum computing: $650 million raised as global race intensifies. Alongside the nine core quantum computing startups in Israel, around 15 other local startups are developing related technologies in quantum sensing, communication, and advanced materials. Read more
How Facebook’s former CRO and Twitter’s top brass are betting big on Israel. Stanley Fischer’s son, David, and his Silicon Valley partners at 01A are doubling down on Israel, funding seven startups so far and scouting dozens more. Read more
Israel’s Weizmann Institute reels from Iranian attack, faces $300 million hole. Prof. Chen calls for emergency funding as 60% of foreign researchers evacuate and dozens of labs shut down. Read more
Why China, not Hollywood, is making flying cars a reality. Backed by aggressive regulation, fierce competition, and bold tech experiments, China’s low-altitude economy is leaving the West grounded. Read more
Ilya Sutskever rules out sale of Safe Superintelligence, takes helm as CEO. Sutskever confirms previous CEO Daniel Gross is leaving the secretive AI startup and pledges to keep it independent. Read more
IBM-backed Qedma raises $26M Series A to fight quantum computing errors. The Israeli startup claims its noise-resilience software could accelerate the path to practical quantum computing. Read more
Regulatory uncertainty risks pushing Israeli AI startups away from Europe. As startups and VCs call on the EU to pause the rollout of its AI Act, concerns mount that it could unintentionally punish its closest tech allies, including Startup Nation. Read more
Code-driven real estate: Israel’s next proptech revolution. “The future of real estate will be managed by code. The Israeli startups that will succeed in the coming decade won’t be the ones building another software layer on top of old systems, but those rethinking the entire operational model,” writes Ophir Shay of TLV Partners. Read more
Verint’s quiet goodbye: How a once-promising Israeli tech star became a modest buyout. An exit worth over $1 billion masks years of missed growth, strategy stumbles, and changing markets. Read more
Wonderful raises $34M in Seed funding to bring multilingual AI to global call centers. Israeli startup aims to unlock non-English markets with advanced AI agents. Read more
Microsoft’s second major layoff in weeks to slash 9,000 roles, with Israel possibly impacted. Less than 4% of global workforce affected as company doubles down on cost cuts amid massive AI bets. Read more
Avner Netanyahu quietly paid £502,000 cash for an apartment in England using a different name. In 2022, Avner Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then the leader of the opposition, purchased an apartment near London under the name Avi Segal. The purchase was made when the British pound was at a historic low, keeping the apartment’s shekel value below Israel’s foreign asset reporting threshold. Read more
Thoma Bravo in talks to buy Verint as CRM market faces AI upheaval. Deal talks surface as the Israeli-American software firm struggles with falling stock and AI headwinds. Read more
After raising $34M, Retrain.ai shuts down and puts its AI platform up for sale. Founded by Kaltura’s Shay David, the HR-focused AI startup has laid off 20 employees and is now looking for an acquirer. Read more
Larry Ellison leads $23M Series B in Imagene AI to build ‘OpenAI for precision medicine’. Israeli startup’s AI platform analyzes biopsies and patient data to match treatments faster. Read more
HP eyes acquisition of beleaguered Landa Digital Printing. HP, Canon, Xerox among suitors as Landa struggles with mounting debt. The court has granted a 14-day freeze as buyers negotiate fire-sale prices. Read more
“We brought Gaza to Iran”: Israeli drones strike 500 targets behind enemy lines. Air Force UAVs hunted missile crews and crippled Iran’s launch capabilities during the 12-Day War. Read more
June 2025 in Israeli tech funding: Over $1.6 billion in 18 deals. The strongest funding month since 2022 was driven by mega-rounds for Cyera, Cato Networks, ForSight Robotics, Coralogix, and Carbyne. Read more
“AI Washing” is the new greenwashing – and Startup Nation should be paying attention. The legal world is cracking down on companies that exaggerate their AI abilities. While the spotlight is currently on the U.S. and European markets, the warning signs are relevant for Israeli tech as well. Read more
Cato Networks raises $359 million at $4.8 billion valuation, keeps IPO on ice. A third of the new funding goes to employees as Shlomo Kramer delays long-expected listing. Read more
$9.3B raised marks strongest half for Israeli startups since 2022. Even without the exceptional $2B capital raise by Safe Superintelligence, an AI company with ties to Israel but not clearly defined as an Israeli company, total fundraising still reached $7.3B for the half year, a pace well above the roughly $10B raised in all of 2024. Read more
Investors poured $1.3 billion into Benny Landa’s printing firm. How is it now running out of cash? The Indigo founder’s next big idea has yet to make money, even after 15 years. Read more
“AI will impact nearly every industry, perhaps as much or even more than mobile.” Shelly Hod Moyal, iAngels’ Founding Partner, joined CTech for its VC AI Survey to share insights on how the technology has changed the investment process. Read more
Kinetica eyes $150 million to fuel Israel’s defense-tech surge. The VC fund counts top Israeli generals, Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale, and U.S. security leaders among its backers and advisors. Read more
