Over the past 75 years, Israel has grown to become one of the world’s largest technology hubs. While building our own ecosystem we have also collaborated with our partners, to support their needs to become technological leaders. Following the signing of the Abraham Accords, Israel has grown from being a single player in the Middle East, to having neighbors who are close partners for innovation and technological initiatives.
As the largest Aerospace and defense company, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) strategy is to promote technological innovation. We established a corporate Innovation Center where various innovation activities are conducted, such as- incentivizes employee to register patents, connect start-ups with industry experts, and collaborate closely with the academic world.
IAI’s Innovation Center is a home for our engineers who show entrepreneurial skills, where the overarching principle is to encourage them to generate organic innovation and open innovation that will be integrated into the development of future products. They build an heterogenic Team entering the center to an intensive accelerator program , and In just 13 weeks they achieve MVP. The Center operates in collaboration with Starburst, an international accelerator specializing in aerospace and defense, and operates multiple early-stage technological accelerator programs around the word for startups, corporate and government institutions. Since the launch of IAI’s Innovation center, 58 projects were developed out of which 30% included a collaboration with a startup and 10 patents were filed. Innovative technologies are fully integrated into IAI’s strategic vision.
IAI’s innovation strategy also promotes innovation, through collaboration with academia. The company grants scholarships to students and provides full funding for the excellent master’s degree programs in engineering-related subjects at Israel’s Technion. IAI also collaborates with the academic world in applied research in areas such as space and quantum computing.
The connections with academia and start-ups allow IAI to stand at the forefront of technology, and become familiar with varied disruptive technologies, in addition to the innovative developments aready taking place within the company, with an eye to the future.
The Innovation Center is at the core of our strategy It allows us to promote engineering-technological excellence, essential to compete globally, develop organic innovation and manage R&D, to enable the development of future applications. In fact, based on the innovation ecosystem which exists in Israel and has produced many successes, we have built a similar model, combining exposure to external start-ups with R&D management in collaboration with academia.
Israel Aerospace Industries is committed to the development of innovative technologies in all its fields of activity, whether aviation, satellites, rockets, intelligence, cyber, drones, or robotics. Innovation is embedded in IAI’s corporate culture, with hundreds of millions of shekels invested annually in research and development. IAI will continue to follow this route in the future, with the aim of developing new and advanced technological capabilities in the Innovation Center, which will be integrated into the company’s existing and future projects.
The Innovation Center encourages a wide range of technologies, intrapreneurship, and cooperation between the company’s different Groups. In the last two years, several initiatives have been developed: in autonomous robotics, artificial intelligence, and space and satellites, some in cooperation with external start-up companies, and integrated into IAI’s business and product lines. IAI’s intention is to continue standing at the forefront of technology while offering the company’s workers a range of possible ways to advance and specialize in development, leading to growth and the strengthening of the company’s technological resilience.
The company is actively broadening its cooperation with academia, startups and other players in Aerospace and defense ecosystem, to strengthen its position as an innovative company , able to provide solutions for the future battlefield.
Facing an increasingly complex and unpredictable defense landscape, the importance of adaptable, advanced, and reliable combat systems cannot be overstated. IAI, with its 70-year legacy, has consistently demonstrated its commitment to innovation, safeguarding nations by integrating cutting-edge technology across various domains. By continually enhancing its offerings and meeting the dynamic challenges of modern warfare head-on, IAI does not just set the standard; it redefines it, firmly positioned to meet emerging threats.
