IsraelTech

A single wrong word in a live caption can put a broadcaster in violation of federal law. The FCC requires 99% caption accuracy on national broadcasts. Generic AI tools land around 90 to 95%. We talked to Yair Amsterdam, CEO of Verbit, about why that last few percent is the entire business. Amsterdam has been in the CEO seat since 2024, after two years running Verbit as COO and President, and before that spent close to a decade running operations for ProQuest and Ex Libris. He's spent most of his career inside companies where the gap between good enough and accurate enough decides who keeps the contract. His says you can't build one model for every conversation. You build a different one for an NBA game, a deposition, and a presidential debate, each prepped in advance with the names and terms that generic engines get wrong. The easy 90% is getting commoditized fast. The hard 9% is where the money is. Hosted by @YoelTIsrael

The SaaS bloodbath has been beyond brutal. Wix for more than any other. This company is doing $2.1BN in ARR and they are valued at $2.1BN. Like WTF. And, they have Base44, one of the leaders in vibe coding, now doing over $170M in ARR. What is going on? How is this being priced at $2.1BN? I sat down with @Avishai_ab and have shared the biggest lessons below. 1. How Public Markets Are Getting Both Wix and SaaS Wrong Public markets routinely misprice tech cycles, hyping vibe-coding startups while discounting core SaaS engines. They ignore the moat of enterprise trust. Giants like Salesforce win because institutions trust them with sensitive data, creating security and compliance barriers automated code projects cannot easily replicate. 2. Was the Buyback a Terrible Decision? Timing the stock market is a fool’s errand. If your balance sheet has cash and your team is focused on core products instead of distracting M&A, a buyback during a dip can be rational. Capital allocation should be judged over three years, not a three-month panic. 3. How Do You Keep Talent When Your Market Cap Is Cratering? Stop treating talent attrition as a failure. It can be a healthy refresh. Bull markets make companies forget that elite teams are forged by solving hard problems, not coasting. When market caps fall, protecting your top tier can uncover hidden stars and make room for a hungry new generation. 4. How Do the Business Models Compare Between Wix and Base44? Scaling newer AI platforms requires ruthless focus on unit economics over expensive, generic LLM usage. The margin breakthrough comes from fine-tuning and combining smaller, custom models to match top-tier performance. Within two years, infrastructure cost declines could make AI COGS a non-issue for platform margins. 5. Why Wix Customers Will Not Churn to Vibe-Coded Solutions Mainstream SMBs have neither the desire nor capacity to build their own tech stacks with automated coding tools. Seemingly simple workflows, like vertical business logic for a hair salon, are surprisingly complex. Even elite engineering teams struggle to rebuild them quickly, proving vertical SaaS remains highly defensible. 6. Why Teams of the Future Will Not Be as Small as People Think The idea that future tech giants will run on skeleton crews managing thousands of AI agents is overhyped. The ecosystem gives too much credit to standalone AI capabilities. On granular business workflows, models still stumble, which means dense, capable human teams remain essential. 7. I Would Be Terrified if I Were in University Today, and My Advice to Students Entering the workforce today is uncertain, but current LLMs will not instantly replace white-collar jobs. Today’s models are strong at reframing data, not deep reasoning, and still make frequent mistakes. True disruption to human capital likely requires two or three more major breakthroughs. (links below)

Ever wonder the technology behind perfect subtitles for sports, cable news, political debates and other real-time events? Meet Verbit. We went into depth about how they transcribe complicated names and audio hard to pick up from the court in the NBA and more. Very fascinating.

@HarryStebbings Congrats!! Can I interview you about it for my podcast @IsraelTech ?

Israel ranks #1 in the world for research and development investment as a share of GDP. Research and development are the foundation of long-term innovation, economic growth, and technological leadership. As technology continues to evolve, Israel remains at the forefront of innovation, driven by a long-standing commitment to research and development. Swipe through to learn more.

First term sheet signed for an Israeli company where 20VC is lead. 15% ownership. Two of Israel’s greatest operators. Mega market. True pre-seed. LFG.

Another major move from one of Israel’s most influential tech entrepreneurs: After building Wiz into one of the world’s biggest cybersecurity companies, Assaf Rappaport is now investing in digital media with the acquisition of a controlling stake in Israel Bidur. With more than 4 million followers across its social platforms, the company has become one of Israel’s most influential online media brands. It’s another example of Israeli tech leaders expanding their impact beyond software and into the future of media and communications.

You can also listen on your fav audio platform: Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5rbmNH… Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

A single wrong word in a live caption can put a broadcaster in violation of federal law. The FCC requires 99% caption accuracy on national broadcasts. Generic AI tools land around 90 to 95%. We talked to Yair Amsterdam, CEO of Verbit, about why that last few percent is the entire business. Amsterdam has been in the CEO seat since 2024, after two years running Verbit as COO and President, and before that spent close to a decade running operations for ProQuest and Ex Libris. He's spent most of his career inside companies where the gap between good enough and accurate enough decides who keeps the contract. His says you can't build one model for every conversation. You build a different one for an NBA game, a deposition, and a presidential debate, each prepped in advance with the names and terms that generic engines get wrong. The easy 90% is getting commoditized fast. The hard 9% is where the money is. Hosted by @YoelTIsrael

Israel is ramping up its artificial intelligence objectives. But how? The government has unveiled a new National AI Program focused on launching a National AI Institute and connecting AI innovation with realistic challenges. Major Israeli and global tech companies are already helping shape the initiative. Israel is positioning itself as one of the world’s leading hubs for AI development and deployment.

To learn more about Rhydlwood and the amazing things they are doing for founders check them out at rhydlwood.com

This Week in IsraelTech 1. @ExodigoAI acquires V&A, Inc. to expand engineering capabilities Exodigo, the Palo Alto and Tel Aviv-based subsurface intelligence and AI-engineering company, has acquired V&A, Inc., a Southern California civil engineering consulting firm with an 18-year track record serving clients including Caltrans, LA Metro, and Southern California Edison. The move, announced by CEO and Co-Founder Jeremy Suard, pairs Exodigo's AI-driven underground mapping with V&A's civil engineering practice, aimed at infrastructure agencies now under pressure to deliver large projects on fixed-price contracts with less room for surprises underground. V&A will keep operating under its own name and leadership, now positioned as "powered by Exodigo." 2. Irani Corp launches F54 AI Labs with a $50M retail-tech push Irani Corp (Founders Roni Irani & Ifat Irani), owner of the Factory 54 fashion chain, is putting $50 million behind a new technology arm, F54 AI Labs, building AI agents for customer experience, supply chains, and digital commerce. The group has named @zirkel, previously involved in AI development at Aleph venture capital fund, as its new CTO to lead the effort across Israel and Europe. 3. Skapion raises $36M Seed to counter drone swarms Skapion, a defense tech company building systems to intercept coordinated drone attacks, raised a $36 million Seed co-led by UP Partners and Khosla Ventures, with Fusion VC, Stratos Ventures, TBD VC, and q Fund also participating. Co-founder and CEO @brnido frames the problem as one of economics as much as capability: militaries are burning expensive interceptor missiles on cheap disposable drones, and the real question is whether a swarm can be neutralized at the cost and speed the battlefield now demands. The founding team draws directly from Israel's defense and energy sectors, including Brig. Gen. (Res.) Pini Yungman, who worked on David's Sling and Iron Dome at Rafael, CTO Gal Goren, renewable energy entrepreneur Zafrir Yoeli, who previously co-founded Enlight Renewable Energy, and defense entrepreneur Yaron Karp. The company runs R&D out of Ramat Gan with headquarters in Washington, D.C. 4. Versailles brings Israeli XR tech to tell America's founding story The Palace of Versailles turned to Jerusalem-based Yaturu to build "Light of Liberty," an XR experience letting visitors walk alongside Benjamin Franklin, Lafayette, and George Washington. CEO Udi Ragones and team built the entire experience in six months, proof Israeli tech is showing up well beyond software This week's roundup is brought to you by Rhydlwood (@DrDLeitner), an exclusive online business hub for business owners, entrepreneurs, and CEOs, built around clarity, decision-making support, and sustainable growth. Follow IsraelTech for all the latest updates.

Watch the full interview with Stav - x.com/IsraelTech/sta…

🌐🇮🇱 Today in IsraelTech: @alta_revenue raises $25M Series A Israeli startup Alta, which builds an AI agent platform for marketing, sales, and business development teams, has closed a $25 million Series A led by IN Venture, the investment arm of Sumitomo Corporation, with @MindsetVentures, Skywell Capital, and @LeumiTech joining existing backers @EntreeCapitalVC, @TargetGlobalVC, and @VerissimoVC. The round follows a $7 million seed and brings total funding to $32 million. Founded in 2023 by CEO Stav Levi-Neumark and Tom Hoffen, both formerly of @mondaydotcom, alongside serial entrepreneur @MorShabtaiR, Alta has grown revenue 800% in under a year and now sits at $15 million in new revenue run rate, with a target of $30 million by the end of 2026. We spoke with Stav Levi-Neumark who told IsraelTech: "To fundamentally transform how the world approaches GTM, you need a world-class foundation. We have the best team in the world, and they are our ultimate moat. We are building the future together." We interviewed Stav last month on IsraelTech. Listen to the full conversation - link in the comments.

Space lasers? It turns out that Israel’s defense technology ambitions are exceeding Earth’s land, sky, and even atmosphere. Defense Minister Israel Katz says the country is developing space-based laser capabilities as part of its long-term security strategy. The announcement reflects a broader push toward next-generation futuristic defense technologies. The strategy signals that space is increasingly being viewed as the next strategic frontier. As warfare evolves, so does the technology designed to deter it.

Watch the full interview: youtu.be/Ho-CbHMNrg0

Everyone building AI is racing for the same thing (and it's not chips) @yaelbarsheshet, partner at @Deep33Ventures, speaks on what's actually limiting AI right now, and why the real competition has moved somewhere less obvious, electricity. Full conversation with @YoelTIsrael, on our channels now.

Watch the full interview with Stav - x.com/IsraelTech/sta…

They say work hard, play hard. Stav Levi Neumark of @alta_revenue does both at the same time. Her happiest moments? Brainstorming the next big idea. What if we didn't have to separate the two concepts. Meaning, we can still find the fun in dedicated, meaningful work. Working environments all around the globe can learn some good takeaways from Stav. Hosted by @YoelTIsrael Watch the full interview - link in the comments.

Today in IsraelTech: Israel Opens New Gas Exploration Bid as Export Deal with Egypt Nears Israel's Energy and Infrastructure Ministry has launched a competitive process to explore five new offshore blocks, covering roughly 7,100 sq km of the country's exclusive economic zone. Ministry estimates suggest hundreds of billions of cubic meters of natural gas remain undiscovered offshore. Six exploration licenses were awarded to a consortium including SOCAR (Azerbaijan's state oil company), BP, and Israel's NewMed Energy, with seismic surveys set to begin in the coming months. The move comes alongside the largest gas export deal in Israel's history, a NIS 112b agreement to supply Egypt, and plans for a 150km underwater power cable connecting the solar-rich south to Israel's center, one of the largest transmission cables of its kind in the world. Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen called natural gas a strategic asset tied to both economic growth and regional standing. Israel has already generated over NIS 30b in direct gas revenue, with the ministry forecasting hundreds of billions of shekels over the next 30 years.

A small team just made a huge profit. Engram, an AI company backed by influential Israeli tech entrepreneurs, is valued at $600 million with just 13 employees. The AI startup has reworked AI memory technology, making AI models more efficient in the process. This is one of many examples of Israeli technological innovations being instrumental in AI’s global growth. It has never been clearer that ideas don’t need a massive team to soar.