We all know that Israel is the startup nation of the world. With a record-high number of startups that come into existence every year in this country, it is hardly a surprise that the startup nation is slowly becoming the unicorn nation of the world, with an array of startups now being valued at over $1billion.

In fact, there are many local startups in Israel that are nearing the valuation of $10 billion. With such a unique startup scene, Israel’s unicorns hint at a significant change in the country’s startup ecosystem.

Israel is a leading force in global technology and innovation across various domains, and similarly, Israel’s unicorns are spread across multiple domains ranging from Consumer to FinTech, Cyber security to E-commerce, etc.

Also, the latest addition to the trend is that the ‘time-to-unicorn’ (time taken by a startup to reach a unicorn level) in Israel has significantly reduced. Earlier, it took a startup on an average of 6-10 years to achieve the status of a unicorn. Now, the same can be reached in less than five years!

Case in point, the number of new Israeli unicorns has grown at an unprecedented rate in 2021, with 24 new unicorns announced in the initial half of this year. By comparison, this is double the number of new unicorns in China and only second to the USA in the first six months of 2021.

Also, the business traction level required for a startup to become a unicorn in Israel has fallen over time. Earlier, between 2014-2018, the startups needed to post a minimum of $75-100m in revenues; however, in 2020-21, startups are able to achieve the unicorn valuation with as little as $25m in revenue.

This is because Israel is a central technological hub with a lot to offer in growth. Furthermore, the speedy proliferation of unicorns in Israel has cemented its place in the world as a strong force of investments and innovation in both absolute and relative terms.

The fact that we now have investors like Leonardo DiCaprio investing in Israeli startups (Aleph Farms) only further goes to show how much potential the country has and how much is yet untapped.

In the end, it’s important to remember that the scaling of the Israeli startups to unicorns and IPOs is not the end but only the beginning of what Israel can offer in terms of its high-tech innovation, investments, and growth opportunities to businesses all across the globe.

To know more about Israel startups and their ecosystem, please reach out to:

Ms. Priyanka Nangalia

Trade Officer -Trade and Economic Mission, Mumbai

Priyanka.Nangalia@israeltrade.gov.il