ISRAEL INNOVATION PROJECT

Hebrew University President Prof. Asher Cohen, in an interview marking the institution's 100th anniversary, highlighted its transformation into a world-renowned research and teaching university. He emphasized its deep commitment to democratic values, innovation, and societal impact, including support for communities affected by recent regional conflicts. The university is fostering partnerships with industry through initiatives like the Gav Yam Hi-Tech Park and research centers on computational medicine and sustainable food. Ranked 81st globally in the 2024 Shanghai Ranking, Hebrew University continues to play a key role in Israel’s development and global academic leadership.

Israel Tech Week 2025 took place from March 27 to April 3, 2025, in Miami, Florida, connecting Israel's vibrant tech ecosystem with Miami's growing tech community. The week-long event featured over 15 curated sessions, including industry-focused panels on AI, FinTech, HealthTech, and ClimateTech, as well as networking opportunities and showcases of groundbreaking technologies. Aligned with the eMerge Americas conference and Miami Tech Week, it attracted more than 2,500 participants and 50 thought leaders, fostering collaboration and innovation across various sectors.

Israel's high-tech sector continues to thrive despite challenges such as political instability and war, exemplified by initiatives like schoolchildren from Daburiyya developing an AI-integrated school entry system. Industry leaders attribute this resilience to the nation's culture of grit and democratic freedoms that foster innovation.

Forty-one Israelis have been included in Forbes' latest list of billionaires, an increase of four from the previous year. Notably, the founders of cloud security firm Wiz—Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak, and Roy Reznik—each doubled their net worth to approximately $2.1 billion following the company's historic $32 billion acquisition by Google.

An international research team led by Dr. Tomer Itkin from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center has developed a method to activate dormant adult stem cells in bone marrow, potentially enhancing transplant success rates. This technique addresses challenges where even matched donors may have insufficient stem cells for transplantation. The study, co-led by Sean Houghton of Weill Cornell Medical College, involved researchers from multiple institutions, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the University of Toronto Medical Center. Their findings have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Immunology.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) recently held ceremonies to honor Israel's fallen soldiers by awarding scholarships to outstanding reservists, each valued at $2,000 and funded by the Rothberg Foundation. For the first time, scholarship recipients met the families of the soldiers they are commemorating, including Captain Shlomit Yair, Major Bar Falah, and Sergeant Guy Bazak.

Professor Yinon Ben-Neriah, a distinguished physician and immunologist at Hebrew University's Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, has been awarded the Israel Prize for his groundbreaking work in cancer research. His pioneering studies have elucidated mechanisms by which chronic inflammation contributes to cancer development, leading to the creation of novel therapeutic strategies, including a widely used drug for blood cancer patients.

Israel's first national solar observatory, Solaris, has opened in the Druze town of Isfiya on Mount Carmel, situated 550 meters above sea level. The facility aims to advance space research within the Arab Israeli community and offers students the opportunity to explore solar phenomena. Isfiya, a town of approximately 13,000 residents, predominantly from the Druze community, views the observatory as a gateway for students to engage with new scientific realms.

AISAP, an Israeli medical startup, was named one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies of 2025, securing fourth place globally in the healthcare category for its FDA-approved AI-powered cardiac diagnostic platform, AISAP CARDIO. Developed by Adiel Am-Shalom and top medical experts, the platform enables real-time detection of structural heart diseases and heart failure without requiring new hospital hardware. Validated in leading U.S. hospitals, the technology impacted clinical outcomes by revealing findings in 50% of scans and changing treatment in 30% of cases.

Researchers at the Technion have developed DNAformer, an AI-driven tool that significantly accelerates the speed and accuracy of retrieving data from DNA, increasing retrieval speeds by 3,200 times. This breakthrough could revolutionize data storage by enabling the rapid reading of large amounts of information encoded in DNA. DNAformer successfully decoded a 3.1-megabyte dataset, showcasing its potential for high-capacity storage. The team is working to refine DNAformer for broader applications in data storage across various industries.