Israel's Innovation Authority is pushing for a national quantum-computing research center, with CEO Dror Bin saying Israeli companies already lead in key components and captured roughly 10% of global private investment in quantum startups last year. Bin said the proposed center isn't meant to build a complete quantum computer but to create an R&D lab where Israeli firms developing processors, algorithms, and controllers can test and integrate their technologies into what he called "the full stack of a quantum computer based on Israeli technology."
The Component Strategy
Bin said quantum computing was once considered too distant to matter in this generation, but "in the last few years, there was really an acceleration in the development of such computers." He said some Israeli companies are already category leaders in components of future quantum systems. The challenge is integration — bringing together firms that build different pieces of the technology stack. "We want to see the entrepreneurs and the investors take the lead, and the government only invest in order to help them grow their companies," he said.
Bin explained that quantum computers use quantum bits in various positions, unlike classical systems that process bits in either a zero or one state. "The thesis is that things that probably would take a regular computer many years, hundreds of years, thousands of years to solve, a quantum computer would be able to solve very quickly," he said. He expects usable quantum applications before 2030 and said, "The Israeli high tech must be also in the forefront of the quantum computing innovation wave."
He said the United States, with companies including IBM, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, has set much of the pace in quantum development, while China, Canada, Britain, Germany, Japan and Australia are also investing heavily. Israel's path won't necessarily be measured by whether it produces an entire quantum computer on its own. "Throughout the history of Israeli high tech, Israeli entrepreneurs and investors and also the state investments were much lower than other countries, but yet with very good results," he said.
Regional Cooperation as Strategic Asset
Bin also discussed how artificial intelligence and regional cooperation could amplify Israel's technological edge. He said AI requires a lot of technology, which Israel excels in, but also lots of land and energy for data centers, which Israel doesn't have. "We are a tiny country with a limited amount of energy. And this is, for me, a great opportunity. The countries around us have lots of energy and lots of land," he said. "If we can connect the dots and create this synergy that data centers are built in our surrounding countries and technology comes from here, and then we build something together, this could be a very good way forward."
He said the overlap of AI and quantum technologies could widen the horizon further. "Once quantum computers are there, think about the combination of AI training and AI inference on quantum computers," he said. "Everything AI can do today, at the end of the decade, only our imagination can try to figure out what will be this combination and what outcome it will bring."
Navigating Economic Headwinds
The Innovation Authority is also responding to the impact of a strong Israeli shekel on startups that raise capital or earn revenue in foreign currencies while paying many expenses in shekels. Bin said, "At the end of the day, a strong shekel means that the Israeli economy is very strong. And this is a good thing," but added, "No, there are challenges. But it's hard for me to use the term crisis." He linked the shekel's strength largely to high-tech investment, saying 2025 saw "more than $100 billion that poured into the Israeli ecosystem, either for early-stage funding or for M&As."
He said a startup that raised money for 24 months could suddenly have only 18 months if costs are in shekels and the funds were raised in dollars. "So, the profit is gone. Sometimes you'll get to the red line," he said. The authority plans a special fund to extend startups' operational runway. "The last thing we want to see is a whole cohort of great startups suffering from something that they had nothing to do with," he said.
In tandem with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the Israel Innovation Authority announced a 6 million shekel program for BlueTech energy. Bin said Israel's coastline is an underused national asset and that "there is some potential there for technologies to harvest energy, to store energy, either from the waves or from the wind or from maybe even biological origins."
Leading Through Crisis
Bin is preparing to step down after five years at the helm of the Israel Innovation Authority, years that included COVID-19, war and intense pressure on the innovation ecosystem. "Five years, and … not easy years. It was like a roller coaster in those five years," he said. Reflecting on the most difficult moment of his tenure, Bin said it came on October 8, the day after the war began. He said startups suddenly lost half their staff to military reserve duty, volunteering or childcare because the education system was shut down. Companies couldn't send sales and marketing teams abroad because flights were unavailable, investors couldn't enter the country for due diligence, and startups in the middle of fundraising faced frozen investment decisions.
The authority responded with a fast-track funding channel for companies in the middle of raising money, requiring private investors to contribute alongside public funds. "We injected back then a few hundred millions of shekels into those companies," he said. "By that, I believe we saved something like 250 companies, which are probably the diamonds of this cohort of companies that will create the next waves of growth for Israeli equity, I think."
Bin, a veteran high-tech executive and former CEO of RAD Data Communications, hasn't yet decided on his next position. "It's something that I'm still contemplating on, to decide what excites me to do next," he said. "This position of the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority is probably one of the most interesting positions in Israel. So, it will be difficult to find something more interesting than that."
Why This Matters:
Israel's quantum computing strategy reveals how a small nation under constant security pressure maintains technological leadership through strategic focus rather than comprehensive scale. The proposed national center reflects a model that's worked for decades: Israeli firms dominate critical components of global systems without building the entire product. This approach proved itself in cybersecurity, missile defense, and telecommunications — and now positions Israel to be indispensable in the quantum era. Bin's emphasis on regional cooperation for AI infrastructure shows how normalization agreements with Arab states create practical advantages beyond diplomacy. As quantum and AI converge, countries that combine Israel's innovation capacity with Gulf energy resources and land could leapfrog competitors who rely on domestic capabilities alone. The Innovation Authority's crisis response after October 8 — saving 250 companies with fast-track funding — demonstrates the resilience of an ecosystem that's learned to function under wartime conditions. That institutional muscle memory, combined with $100 billion in investment flowing into Israeli tech despite ongoing conflict, suggests the innovation sector has become a strategic asset as critical as the IDF. For Israel's adversaries, this technological depth complicates any calculation about the country's long-term viability.