The Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI) opened its annual MIXiii Health-Tech.IL 2026 conference in Jerusalem on Monday, bringing approximately 1,800 participants from over 40 countries to the International Convention Center. This gathering, described by organizers as the largest biomedical industry conference in the Middle East, took place in a city recognized by international law as occupied territory.
The event, led by IATI CEO and President Karin Mayer Rubinstein, saw the attendance of doctors, ambassadors, investors, fund representatives, startup executives, and senior development professionals from both Israel and abroad. Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion was present at the opening, alongside Mark Sabag, executive vice president, International Markets Commercial at Teva; Orit Efrati, chairwoman of Shenkar’s Board of Governors; India’s Ambassador to Israel Jitender Pal Singh; and Yossi Ofek, CEO of Teva Israel. The conference was produced by Stier Group.
This year's conference agenda highlighted emergency medicine, a field organizers noted has gained "added importance due to recent wars and battlefield experience." Other topics included tech-bio, healthcare venture building, home care and remote monitoring, emerging technologies from Israeli academia, and innovation in ophthalmology.
Normalizing Occupation
The conference focused on investment, with over 60 investors and 30 venture capital funds from around the world participating. Mayer Rubinstein stated that the Israeli high-tech sector, including biomed, operates in a "complex and challenging environment," citing a "security reality," "geopolitical uncertainty," and "economic challenges." She also mentioned significant global changes, led by the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Despite these challenges, she asserted that Israeli high-tech remains a "central growth engine" for the country's economy, attracting investors and international companies, and demonstrating "resilience and ability to adapt." This narrative of resilience often obscures the underlying realities of military occupation and dispossession that define the region, particularly in Jerusalem.
Profiting from Conflict
A new feature this year was the first IATI TTOs Pitch Session, where technology transfer organizations from leading Israeli research institutions, universities, and hospitals presented new life sciences and healthcare technologies. This session aimed to strengthen connections between Israeli research, the investment community, and industry, turning "Israeli innovation into partnerships, investment, and commercial activity."
Mayer Rubinstein described MIXiii Health-Tech.IL as a "concrete expression" of Israel's strength, with hundreds of senior figures from life sciences and digital health meeting over two days. The Jerusalem Development Authority also hosted a separate event, where five biomed startups, selected from approximately 300 operating in Jerusalem, presented their developments to executives from leading biomed companies and investment funds. Among the participating companies was EMRIS Pharma, which develops treatments aimed at preventing skin toxicities caused by targeted cancer therapies.
For IATI, the conference is part of a continuous, year-round effort to "strengthen Israel’s position in the global innovation arena." Mayer Rubinstein emphasized the importance of continuing to "tell the story of Israeli innovation to the world," bolstering investor confidence, and ensuring high-tech and life sciences remain "major growth engines" for the Israeli economy in the years ahead. This ongoing effort seeks to legitimize and expand the settler-colonial project through economic integration and technological advancement.