Israeli Startups Born from War Showcase Innovations at Bezeq Event

A special "Demo Day" event held last week in Israel featured around 40 startups founded or advanced by entrepreneurs serving extended reserve duty during the Iron Swords war. The event was organized by Bezeq in cooperation with the Israel Innovation Authority and the Ministry of Defense's department for reservists and discharged soldiers. Its goal was to present unique military and civilian technological solutions to Bezeq executives, senior defense officials, and investors, while supporting entrepreneurs who had to pause their business activities due to the conflict.

Central to the initiative is Bezeq's "Connected Fund," established after the war to support reservists, wounded soldiers, and their families through investments in rehabilitation, resilience, employment assistance, and innovation. Bezeq CEO Nir David emphasized that the program aims not only to showcase startups but also to connect them with investors and business partners, potentially leading to investments in companies that could become leading Israeli firms.

Highlighted projects include Digital Combat Academy (DCA), which uses gaming and virtual reality for military and police training, already in use to train thousands of soldiers. Sparseon developed a new video file format to enable faster AI video analysis, currently in pre-seed stage. Vilo offers a digital platform to improve employee well-being and prevent burnout, having recently secured pre-seed funding. Octopus.ai provides an AI-driven platform for managing complex engineering projects on land and sea.

Other notable ventures are RDF, an AI system managing autonomous robotic fleets without GPS to replace soldiers in dangerous areas, led by Aryeh Holtzberg, who combines a background in ultra-Orthodox education with advanced computer science degrees and military tech leadership. Tactinium produces off-grid energy solutions for maneuvering forces using electrochemical reactions. VELQOR Dynamics developed an AI system that monitors military communication networks in real time to reduce cognitive load and prevent errors. Doto is a learning platform that analyzes long video lectures for reservists and students, highlighting critical exam content to save study time.

These startups reflect the intersection of military experience and technological innovation, aiming to address urgent battlefield challenges and broader civilian needs while fostering Israel's high-tech ecosystem.