Israel Launches NIS 44m Data Initiative to Power AI Innovation Across Key Sectors

These repositories will offer researchers, tech startups, and industrial players access to data sets that were previously scattered, siloed, or inaccessible. 

Israel is taking a bold step toward cementing its global status as an artificial intelligence powerhouse with a new government initiative that will pour NIS 44 million into the creation of high-quality data repositories.

The program, a joint effort by the Israel Innovation Authority, Ministry of Economy and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Tkuma Administration, aims to build the infrastructure needed to supercharge AI development and scientific innovation.

The grants will support the creation and opening of comprehensive data sets across six national growth sectors: health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, DeserTech and climate, agritech, foodtech, and defense and high-tech.

These repositories will offer researchers, tech startups, and industrial players access to data sets that were previously scattered, siloed, or inaccessible.

“Data is the raw material for training AI models that create groundbreaking solutions,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority.

“This call for proposals is meant to transform Israel’s data repositories from closed resources into open engines of innovation.”

In the field of agriculture, the initiative will focus on soil analysis, pest tracking, climate conditions, and cultivation methods—especially in the context of climate change.

“Tomorrow’s agriculture depends on smart agricultural intelligence and quality data,” said Oren Lavi, director general of the Ministry of Agriculture. “We are building a data nation… an integrated system of soil, satellite, sensor, and supply chain data.”

The Tkuma Administration, established after the October 7 attacks to help rebuild Israel’s southern communities, sees the project as a path to renewal.

“This data infrastructure investment will allow peripheral towns and companies to join Israel’s tech growth wave,” said Aviad Friedman, head of Tkuma. “It will transform the region from a site of trauma to a hub of excellence and innovation.”

Moti Gamliel, director general of the Ministry of Economy, summed up the initiative’s economic potential: “Data is the new oil. To help Israeli companies compete globally, we must provide them with quality data infrastructure.”

With this cross-ministerial collaboration, Israel is positioning itself not just to adapt to the AI age—but to lead it.

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