“Despite the difficulties, large funds and international companies are making large investments in Israel”
“Despite the difficulties, large funds and international companies are making large investments in Israel”
Noam Canetti, managing partner of EY Israel, was speaking at the Journey conference in Tel Aviv.
The Journey conference organized by consulting and accounting firm EY took place earlier this week in the presence of 2,300 participants from the tech community. The conference, which was held at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv, was opened by Noam Canetti, managing partner of EY Israel, who said: "I believe in the tech industry in Israel and I believe in Israel, despite the difficult times. We are in the midst of a global storm that includes a global economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions and significant climate changes. At the same time, there is an internal turmoil in Israel, when the political and military challenges still continue and harm the Israeli economy and entrepreneurship. The uncertainty puts the Israeli market in a situation that requires a quick and creative adjustment."
Canetti addressed the challenges facing the tech community in Israel in light of the ongoing war and Israel's position in the world: "Israeli high-tech will know how to overcome the challenges. Entrepreneurship is at the core of Israeli DNA. We innovate, make things happen and turn ideas into reality. Turn threats and constraints into ideas and opportunities. We now have even bigger dreams to change the world. Israeli entrepreneurs, managers and investors are bolder and more dominant than ever. Even when it comes to making significant purchases. Despite the difficulties, large funds and international companies are making large investments in Israel. The opportunities created by the AI revolution attract entrepreneurs to start new ideas."
The finals of the PITCH competition, EY's startup competition, took place at the conference. The eight companies advancing to the finals presented their pitch, after over 200 companies submitted applications, and 24 companies were selected in the semi-finals of the competition, which is now in its 12th year. This year's winner was the company PER.ME, which deals with home DNA tests to promote the field of personalized medicine.
The leading entrepreneurs and CEOs in the Israeli and global ecosystem were present and spoke at the conference, including Eyal Waldman, Gil Shwed, Shlomo Dovrat, Yifat Oron, Adam Singolda, Gili Raanan, Oren Zeev, Adi Soffer Teeni, Daniel Loeb, Reed Rayman and more.
"When you lead a company, you are at war all the time," said Eyal Waldman in a dedicated panel for warriors, in recognition of their contribution in the past year and assistance in their first steps in the ecosystem. "A combat and command background teaches you to be ready for anything," he said.
At the Time Capsule 2030 session, nine senior speakers from the high-tech industry gathered on one stage and presented their forecast for the coming years, in a conversation moderated by Barak Pridor, the participants presented optimism for the long term despite difficulties in the near term.
In a panel that dealt with cyber investments moderated by Zohar Alon from Firefly and with the participation of Dan Amiga from Island, Gili Raanan from Cyberstarts said that "there is no bubble in cyber. We live in a world where cyber protection is necessary for every organization."
At the end of the panel that dealt with the selection of partners and mergers, Adam Singolda, founder and CEO of Taboola, shared that the goal is not only to select suitable partners for the company, but also to have continuous and significant support from home. Singolda, who spoke about the partnership with Yahoo, said: "Never put a roof on your dreams." He said that his mother often accompanied him to speeches and conferences he participated in. To the surprise of the audience, at the end of his words his father, the successful guitarist Avi Singolda, came on stage and played the Beatles' song Here Comes The Sun for the participants.
