Tech City guide: Tel Aviv
Israel is known as the start-up nation, and there is no doubt that Tel Aviv is the jewel in its tech crown.
Walk into any of the city’s restaurants or bars and you are far more likely to hear people talking about the tech businesses than football or the weather.
The theories as to why Tel Aviv has become one of the tech capitals of the world are plentiful.
Israel is known as the start-up nation, and there is no doubt that Tel Aviv is the jewel in its tech crown.
Walk into any of the city’s restaurants or bars and you are far more likely to hear people talking about the tech businesses than football or the weather.
The theories as to why Tel Aviv has become one of the tech capitals of the world are plentiful.
Israel, founded in only 1948, was built by immigrants and, as such, risk-takers – an attitude that has held the sector in good stead. There has always been a drive for self-sufficiency and efficiency in agriculture and water, which led to advanced engineering and technologies.
With a population of only 8.5m, businesses are also forced to think globally in order to be successful.
The country’s volatile political and geographical position has meant it has constantly invested in cyber security, a sector in which it is now a world leader.
This is accentuated by Israel’s military conscription policy, with many of the country’s brightest young minds being given advanced tech training in the forces. Many tech entrepreneurs say it pushed them to realise that things that might seem impossible are in fact possible.
For the world’s largest tech companies and venture capital investors, having a presence in Tel Aviv has become a must. But if you still need convincing, then listen to the experts. “If people want to see the future of the world economy, they should look at Tel Aviv, home to hundreds of start-ups and research centres,” according to former US president Barack Obama.
And as Warren Buffet said: “When you go to the Middle East looking for oil, you don’t need to stop in Israel. But if you go looking for brains, for energy, for integrity, it’s the only stop you need to make.”
THE OCCUPIERS
All eyes are on ToHa, a 1.7m sq ft office complex near Hashalom Station, which is set to include a 63-storey tower – Tel Aviv’s tallest.
The 592,000 sq ft speculatively developed first phase of the project by Amot Investments and Gav-Yam Bayside will provide a huge amount of new space to the market when it completes next year.
However, a chunk of this could soon be swallowed up – WeWork is currently in discussions to lease around half of the building.
Tel Aviv’s five largest tech occupiers by number of employees – Intel, Hewelett-Packard, IBM, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola. Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung and Microsoft also have a major presence in the city.
WHO TO KNOW
Uzi Scheffer
Chief executive, Sosa
Dan Zakai
Chief executive, Mindspace
Doron Cohen
Chief executive, Covercy
Yoni Beck
Consultant, BLP
Guy Vardi
Head of real estate transactions, EY
THE ONE TO WATCH
Sosa is Tel Aviv’s most dynamic tech centre – a serviced office business that isn’t a serviced office, because only 25% of its revenue comes from rent.
The rest comes from blue-chip corporations and investors that pay to be part of a start-up community that Sosa curates, engages with them to pull deals and joint ventures together and run sector specific programs, including on construction, that form concepts that they can buy into.
EG is media partner for UK Israel Business’s proptech delegation to Tel Aviv in January 2018. For more information and details on how to attend, visit www.israelproptech.co.uk
