Google Panel Says Israel’s AI Edge Lies in Agility, Boldness and Applied Innovation

At a Google Israel and Calcalist AI Week panel on leadership in the AI era, executives argued that Israel is not missing the AI wave, but is well positioned to ride it. The discussion, moderated by Calcalist’s Elihai Videl, featured Shiran Fren, director at Google Israel, Adam Fisher, a partner at Bessemer, and Omer Kaplan, cofounder and CEO of ZyG and cofounder of ironSource.

Fisher said the local scene remains highly innovative and entrepreneurial, even if there are only a few global AI leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Kaplan agreed, saying Israel may not yet host the biggest foundational AI firms, but it is producing a strong crop of companies in Agentic Services and AI applications that aim to solve big problems end to end. He cited startups including Wonderful and ZyG as examples.

Fren said Google’s investment in Israel reflects a clear recognition of the country’s strengths. Israel, she said, lacks the deep pockets to build massive infrastructure, but excels at applications, delivering value to customers, and leading in fintech and cyber. “The Israeli people are not afraid of AI. We see it as a colleague,” she said.

The panelists said traits often associated with Israeli culture, creativity, chutzpah and resilience, are advantages in AI. Fisher said much of AI’s infrastructure was built in Israel and argued that the country’s wartime resilience shows the strength of its tech sector. Kaplan said the best AI companies today sell outcomes, not software, and require boldness, innovation and the ability to get things done. Fren added that AI turns Israeli chutzpah into “super powers,” especially in a time of uncertainty, because Israelis can move fast, pivot quickly and build lean teams.

They also urged more state support. Fisher said Israel is lagging in data center investment and in teaching AI in schools and universities. Kaplan said government intervention is important, even if current national challenges make that difficult. Fren said the state should focus on regulation and enabling startups, while companies like Google should help develop talent, work with government and academia, support gender equality, and give startups access to Google’s ecosystem. Their advice to founders was to aim at the biggest possible problem, focus on services and outcomes, and accept that, as Kaplan put it, “Execution is the new mode.”