Space is no longer just about rockets. It is becoming infrastructure for AI, defence, climate intelligence, communications, mining, science and the next generation of computing. Israel has a real shot to play a role.
It was a week of contradictions: Israeli startups raised over a billion this week and created $2.5B in exits alone, but over 60% of tech companies announced layoffs in recent months.
The 2026 playbook for AI-native gaming, entertainment, commerce and consumer startups
The Israeli venture market is not back to 2021. It is something more selective, more concentrated, and more strategically important
The Israel Innovation Authority’s 2026 report shows a sector that has returned to growth, delivered record exits and cemented its role as Israel’s economic engine. But underneath the headline numbers, the foundations of Startup Nation are shifting.
Firgun crossed 8,000 subscribers this past week. In May, global tech layoffs surpassed the 100,000 mark, and the trend is also hard to ignore in Israel, with multiple companies announcing layoffs as a result of a weak US dollar and AI automation
A strong shekel, AI disruption and the end of the 2021 org chart are forcing a reset, but Israeli tech has been here before
AI coding tools are making software faster and cheaper to build. That does not make software startups easier to fund.
Agents are moving from demos into SMBs and enterprises, but many of the startups building them may be more vulnerable than they look.
A 5 month old cyber AI startup acquired for $50M, mega round for Decart at $4 billion valuation and big news from the wider tech world.
Software may be eating the world, but the physical infrastructure of the 21st century (from generative AI data centers to autonomous defense systems) still runs on rocks.
Something important is happening in AI, and it is still not talked about enough: the model companies are moving from renting infrastructure to selling solutions.
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