A landmark year for Israeli hi-tech

Israeli high-tech recorded a landmark year in 2025, generating record exports and exits, even as the sector showed the first decline in research and development employees in over a decade and continued shifting activity offshore.

The figures come from the 2026 High-Tech Status Report, published on June 1 by the Israel Innovation Authority. According to the report, high-tech output grew 8.2 per cent in 2025, with capital raising up 30 per cent and exits reaching record levels.

The sector recorded $US85 billion ($131 billion) in exports, accounting for 58 per cent of all Israeli exports, alongside $US84 billion ($129 billion) in exits and nearly $US15 billion ($23 billion) in capital raised.

Israel ranked as the world’s fourth-largest hub for startup fundraising, behind San Francisco, New York and Boston, and the leading hub outside the United States. High-tech GDP totalled 352 billion shekels, lifting the sector’s share of Israel’s GDP to 18.3 per cent, up from 17.7 per cent the previous year.

Output per employee reached approximately 827,000 shekels annually, the highest in the economy. Growth in high-tech accounted for around half of Israel’s total economic expansion for the year.