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in Tel Aviv 5th largest unicorn company in the world. However, relatively little has been written outside Israel about the key concerns local entrepreneurs are currently addressing. He is one of them, the CEO of MDI Health, who spoke with Avishai Ben-Tovim. — Anna
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The Exchange recently noted that Sweden has surpassed startup funding per capita. But Israel is even better when it comes to technology, earning it the nickname “startup nation”.
Israel’s tech scene is also very resilient and relatively immune to the country’s global and regional political issues. But in recent months, Israel’s startup ecosystem has been at the forefront of protests against the government’s highly controversial judicial reform plan.
Opponents of reform say the technology sector will harm Israel’s democracy and economy, “accounting for about 25% of Israel’s income tax and contributing about 15% of the country’s annual GDP,” according to The Jerusalem Post. claim.
Driven by these political and economic concerns, major players in the Israeli startup scene have taken public positions. For example, Index Ventures “blame”[d] Proposed reforms in Israel that foster discrimination and threaten democracy. ”
Others do not issue official statements or formally participate in strikes, leaving it up to their employees. But regardless of position, many are concerned about the economic impact this political crisis could have.
These concerns have also translated into behavior, particularly in relation to finance. Reuters reported in January that his Israeli venture capital fund and a local start-up moved bank accounts out of Israel.
Avishai Ben-Tovim, CEO of MDI Health, was one of them. His health tech companies, which he has raised $26 million to date, are in both Israel and the United States, according to Crunchbase. As political unrest escalated in Israel, it made sense to put Silicon Valley Bank accounts to good use, but it didn’t. Ironically, Ben-Tovim found himself in a position to rush the money back to Israel before the bank went bankrupt.
