London, UK – 5 August 2026 – Technion UK congratulates BioCatch and its founders following Visa’s announcement that it will acquire the Israeli fraud prevention company in a $2.4 billion transaction. The acquisition is another landmark moment for Israel’s innovation ecosystem and a proud achievement for the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, whose alumni were among BioCatch’s founders.
BioCatch has become a global leader in behavioural biometric intelligence, helping financial institutions detect fraud by analysing how users interact with their devices and banking applications. Today, its technology protects more than 760 million users and serves over 350 financial institutions worldwide, helping stop financial crime before money is lost.
The acquisition further highlights Israel’s position as the Start-Up Nation. Despite a population of fewer than 10 million people, Israel is home to more than 7,000 active startups, giving it one of the highest concentrations of startups per capita in the world. Technion graduates have played a pivotal role in building this ecosystem, founding and leading many of Israel’s most successful technology companies across cybersecurity, fintech, AI, healthcare and semiconductors.
Alan Aziz, CEO of Technion UK, said:“Visa’s acquisition of BioCatch is another outstanding example of how Technion alumni are transforming breakthrough research and entrepreneurial vision into technologies with global impact. We are immensely proud that Technion graduates helped found a company that is protecting hundreds of millions of people from financial fraud. Their success reflects the Technion’s enduring commitment to innovation and reinforces Israel’s position as the Start-Up Nation, where world-changing ideas become world-leading companies.”
Technion has long been recognised as one of the world’s leading science and technology universities, producing generations of entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators whose discoveries and companies continue to shape industries around the globe. The BioCatch acquisition is the latest example of Technion alumni translating cutting-edge research into solutions that improve the security and resilience of the global financial system.
New global ranking places the Technion 25th worldwide, fourth in Europe, and first in Israel in AI Production Capacity. It also places Technion eighth globally for AI entrepreneurship among its graduates
The Technion has been ranked No. 1 in Israel, fourth in Europe, and 25th worldwide in a new index measuring universities’ ability to develop talent, research, and entrepreneurship in artificial intelligence. The report also ranks the Technion eighth in the world for the number of university graduates who go on to found AI companies.
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan said, “Despite the dramatic disparity in resources between the Technion and leading American universities and other top institutions worldwide, the Technion has secured a place among the world’s leading universities and at the top of the Israeli rankings. Technion researchers were among the pioneers of machine learning, helping lay the foundations for leadership in AI as a whole. This leadership is reflected not only in our research but also in the central role AI now plays across Technion degree programs and in the strong connections we have built with industry in Israel and around the world. AI tools are now essential in the workplace, and we ensure that our students acquire these skills alongside a strong foundation in mathematics, science, and engineering.”
Prof. Sivan added, “AI is the defining field of our time, and the Technion is at the forefront globally. Our position in this new ranking is consistent with other international indicators, including the CSRankings, which placed the Technion first in Europe for the number of AI publications presented at leading international conferences. These achievements are the result of a long-term, carefully planned strategy made possible by the outstanding people who make up the Technion family: our faculty members and lecturers, leadership and staff, students, administrative teams, distinguished alumni, and, of course, our friends around the world.”
In addition to its impressive overall ranking, the Technion outperformed many elite universities, including Harvard University, in two key subcategories: the number of faculty members and alumni working in the AI industry, and alumni AI entrepreneurship. In the area of entrepreneurship (educating students who go on to found AI companies), the report notes that, when adjusted for institutional size, the Technion’s alumni entrepreneurship performance is comparable to that of Stanford University, which ranked first overall. The Technion also achieved a stronger overall performance than several elite universities, including Duke, Northwestern, and the University of Pennsylvania, despite operating with a far smaller budget.
The AI Production Capacity index, compiled by the U.S.-based public relations firm W5, ranks the world’s top 50 universities based on their impact on the AI research and industry, including the number of alumni and faculty employed by leading AI companies; entrepreneurship and human capital, such as startup founders, unicorn creation, and venture funding; research volume and quality; computing infrastructure; the depth of AI education; and mentions in generative AI systems.
Scientists at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can predict a person’s risk of heart failure up to five years before symptoms appear.
The breakthrough, published in the journal npj Digital Medicine, could help doctors identify high-risk patients much earlier, allowing treatment to begin before serious damage is done.
Heart failure affects around 64 million people worldwide and is one of the leading causes of illness and hospital admissions, particularly in older adults.
The AI model analyses data from a routine 24-hour heart monitor (Holter ECG) and can detect tiny warning signs that are invisible to the human eye.
Professor Joachim Behar, who led the research at the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, said: “By identifying people at risk years before heart failure develops, we have an opportunity to intervene earlier, improve patients’ quality of life and potentially save lives.”
The model was developed using around 70,000 routine heart-monitoring tests from Leumit Health Services and was created in collaboration with researchers and clinicians from Rambam Health Care Campus, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and other leading Israeli medical institutions.
The researchers hope the technology could eventually become part of routine healthcare, helping prevent heart failure before it starts.
Not long ago, artificial intelligence felt like something out of science fiction: It lived in futuristic movies and speculative headlines. Today, it’s woven quietly into our daily routines. AI helps us decide where to eat dinner, flags unusual health symptoms, and even drafts our emails.
But while AI has changed daily life, its impact within research universities may be even more profound. At the Technion, a revolution is unfolding. AI is not just another tool in the academic toolbox. It is transforming how research is done and how quickly discovery happens.
Technion President Prof. Uri Sivan describes AI as a kind of “superbrain,” one we are all connected to. This superbrain can process staggering amounts of information, recognize patterns humans would miss, and solve problems at speeds that were unimaginable just a few years ago. For researchers, whose work depends on thinking, analysing, and discovering, AI has become an extension of their own minds.
A Tectonic Shift in Research
Across campus, researchers in fields as diverse as medicine, biology, physics, and mechanical engineering are integrating AI into their daily work. Tasks that once required months or even years of painstaking effort can now be completed in hours. Calculations once done by hand or simulations that took weeks to run are now executed almost instantly.
Prof. Mark Silberstein of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computing Engineering believes this transformation is only beginning. “We’re seeing a tectonic shift in academic research,” he said. “Soon, everyone will be using AI for one thing or another.
AI Revolution | Prof. Mark Silberstein
Within a year, he predicts, AI tools will be fully embedded in research across disciplines, and many researchers will build their own custom AI systems tailored to their work. The pace of change, he said, will only accelerate.
What does that look like in practice?
From the Test Tube to the Computer
For generations, scientific breakthroughs were born in laboratories filled with microscopes, test tubes, and experimental animals. Today, many of those experiments are beginning not in physical labs, but inside computers.
Ofer Strichman, professor of computational logic and computer science in the Faculty of Data and Decision Sciences, has watched this evolution firsthand. “Every year we recruit new faculty,” he explained, “and you can see how more and more scientists are computational experimentalists. They’re doing their research in the computer.”
AI revolution | Prof. Ofer Strichman
Imagine developing a new drug. Traditionally, scientists tested one compound at a time, often beginning with animals. It’s slow, expensive, and limited. Now imagine creating a detailed digital simulation of a human organ, a “virtual organ,” and testing not just one molecule, but millions of combinations. AI can analyze the results, identify the most promising candidates, and dramatically narrow down what needs to be tested in the lab. Instead of replacing laboratory work, computers supercharge it. Scientists can explore possibilities that would be impossible to test physically, then return to the lab with sharper focus and better odds of success.
Picture a physicist, for instance, trying to predict how 1,000 celestial bodies will move over the next 1,000 years. The math quickly becomes overwhelming. But with powerful computers, each celestial body can be modeled digitally, with the system calculating how every object influences the others. The simulation unfolds in virtual space, revealing patterns no human could calculate by hand.
“Nowadays,” Strichman said, “the more computing power you have, the better your research results will be. Like having a bigger telescope, computers allow us to see farther.”
Why Computing Power Matters
Behind every AI breakthrough lies a less glamorous but absolutely essential ingredient: computing power.
For more than 30 years, the Technion has operated a high-performance computing (HPC) facility: essentially a warehouse filled with powerful servers. These systems have long supported researchers running complex simulations, particularly in fields like physics and engineering.
3D render of High Performance Computing Building on Technion campus in Haifa
Traditionally, these computers relied on components called central processing units, or CPUs. You can think of a CPU as the brain of a computer. The Technion currently operates about 6,500 CPUs, and researchers typically wait just a couple of minutes to access one. But AI demands something different.
Modern AI systems rely heavily on graphics processing units, or GPUs. Originally designed to render video game graphics, GPUs are uniquely suited for the kind of massive, parallel calculations that AI requires. While a CPU handles tasks sequentially, a GPU can perform many calculations simultaneously, making it dramatically faster for AI workloads. The difference is enormous.
GPUs are not only expensive (each unit can cost around $250,000) but they also require specialized infrastructure. They consume large amounts of electricity and generate extraordinary heat, demanding sophisticated cooling systems and advanced networking to allow thousands of units to communicate seamlessly. The Technion currently has only 72 GPUs, which is far from sufficient. Researchers can wait four hours or more for access to one. In a world where speed determines competitiveness, those hours matter.
A Global Race
Around the globe, countries, universities, and technology companies are racing to dominate the AI frontier. Success depends not only on talent and ideas, but also on infrastructure. The institutions that build the most advanced computing systems gain a powerful edge in research, innovation, and economic development.
“There is an arms race among countries and universities to achieve AI dominance. To be at the forefront of this field, we need to strengthen the capabilities we have at the Technion.”
Prof. Mark Silberstein
At present, many Technion researchers must rely on industry partnerships to access advanced GPU systems because the University lacks sufficient in-house capacity. While collaboration with industry can be valuable, dependence creates limitations.
Complicating matters, Israel’s recent war with Hamas forced national and institutional priorities to shift and long-term infrastructure investments were necessarily delayed. Now, as the country looks toward rebuilding and strengthening its future, expanding AI infrastructure has become a strategic priority.
The Technion is taking a major step forward with the construction of the Martin and Grace Druan Rosman High-Performance Computer Data Centre. The facility is nearing completion and will provide a state-of-the-art home for next-generation computing.
Supported by Dr. Martin Rosman and Grace Druan Rosman through the American Technion Society, the new centre includes advanced electrical systems, cutting-edge cooling technologies, and high-speed communications networks — all designed specifically to support powerful GPU-based systems. In simple terms: The building will be ready for the AI era.
Martin and Grace Rosman unveiling the supercomputing centre, 2023
High Stakes for Israel
For Israel, the implications extend far beyond campus. Israel’s reputation as the Startup Nation rests heavily on the strength of its scientific institutions. Many of the country’s most successful technology companies trace their roots to Technion labs and classrooms. The engineers and entrepreneurs trained here help power Israel’s economy.
If the Technion falls behind in AI research infrastructure, the ripple effects could be significant. Conversely, if it leads, the impact could be transformative: accelerating medical breakthroughs, advancing clean energy solutions, strengthening national security, and fueling new industries.
“The Technion is committed to educating the best engineers in the world, the most capable entrepreneurs,” Silberstein said. “Israel’s brainpower is our competitive advantage.”
The AI revolution is here and it’s reshaping science, education, and industry. At the Technion, the question is not whether AI will transform research because that transformation is already underway. The question is how boldly and how quickly the University can build the infrastructure needed to lead.
Technion researchers and partners at Tianjin University say managing carbon dioxide, rather than eliminating it, could make low-cost fuel cells more durable and practical for vehicles, drones and remote power systems
Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Tianjin University in China say they have developed a new approach that could make hydrogen fuel cells more affordable, durable and efficient while allowing them to operate with ambient air.
Their findings, published in Nature Energy, focus on anion-exchange membrane fuel cells, or AEMFCs, which generate electricity through a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike some conventional fuel cell technologies, AEMFCs can use cheaper and more abundant materials, potentially reducing system costs.
The technology is being studied for use in transportation, aviation, aerospace, drones, distributed energy systems, backup power and electricity generation in remote areas.
The study was led by Prof. Dario Dekel of the Technion’s Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering and the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program; Prof. Michael Guiver, a polymer membrane expert at Tianjin University; Dr. Karam Yassin, manager of the Technion’s Central Hydrogen Technologies Laboratory; and Dr. Sapir Willdorf-Cohen, a researcher in Dekel’s group.
The main challenges in developing AEMFCs have been improving power output, energy efficiency, performance and durability.
Until now, carbon dioxide in ambient air has largely been treated as a contaminant that harms performance and shortens fuel cell durability. The researchers propose what they call “CO2 management,” arguing that carbon dioxide should not be viewed only as an obstacle but as a factor that can be controlled and, under some conditions, used to improve fuel cell stability.
“For years, carbon dioxide has been considered one of the main challenges facing AEM fuel cells,” Dekel said. “Our work shows that the picture is more nuanced. Under certain conditions, carbon dioxide may contribute to the long-term stability of fuel cell materials. By learning how to manage CO2 rather than simply eliminate it, we can pave the way toward affordable, durable and high-performance fuel cells capable of operating directly with ambient air.”
The researchers said the findings could help speed the adoption of hydrogen fuel cells in passenger vehicles, trains, drones, ships, distributed energy systems and autonomous power technologies.
The research was supported by the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program, the Israel Science Foundation, the Israeli Council for Higher Education and other funding partners.
Time to Move technology gives users control over motion in AI-generated videos without retraining models or requiring massive computing power
Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a technology that allows users to control movement in AI-generated videos using simple mouse gestures, without requiring large computing resources or retraining on massive video datasets.
The system, called Time to Move, or TTM, was developed by Dr. Or Litany of the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science, together with Prof. Ron Kimmel and students Asaf Singer, Noam Rotstein and Amir Mann.
Litany presented the research last month at the International Conference on Learning Representations, or ICLR 2026, in Brazil. The conference is considered one of the leading global gatherings in deep learning and artificial intelligence.
The technology is designed to address one of the key limitations of AI video generation: the difficulty of precisely controlling how objects and characters move over time. “Our development solves one of the main limitations of AI-based video generation: the difficulty of precisely controlling the movement of objects and characters over time,” Litany said.
He said TTM can be integrated as a plug-in into existing video models and does not require retraining. Unlike earlier approaches that require model-specific adaptation and significant computing power, the Technion system operates without additional computational cost, he said.
“In doing so, it helps democratise AI video creation by expanding access beyond giant companies such as Google and Meta,” Litany said.
The key innovation behind the technology is a method called dual-clock denoising, which refines motion while balancing the user’s intended movement with natural-looking video results.
Experiments conducted by the researchers showed that TTM matched training-based methods and outperformed them in motion accuracy and realism, according to the Technion. The system also allows users to edit the appearance of objects and add new objects to a scene, capabilities not offered by some earlier trained methods.
Researchers said the technology represents a step toward more intuitive and controllable tools for generative video.
Litany joined the Technion’s computer science faculty as a senior lecturer in 2023 after being selected as an Azrieli Faculty Fellow and a Taub Fellow. He previously completed postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and FAIR at Meta and has worked on computer vision technologies.
For decades, the Energy Tower by Dan Zaslavsky was one of the most audacious clean-energy ideas never built. And it was the first story we covered when Green Prophet was founded in 2007!
Dan Zaslavsky date unknown
Conceived by Dr. Phillip Carlson and championed by Professor Dan Zaslavsky of the Technion in Israel, the Energy Tower proposed something almost magical: spray seawater into the top of a giant desert tower, cool the hot air, let it plunge downward at high speed, and generate electricity through turbines at the base. The hotter and drier the desert, the better it would work. Zaslavsky envisioned towers over 1,000 metres tall rising from the Negev, Jordan Valley, and Red Sea region, generating power day and night while potentially producing fresh water.
The Energy Tower
The idea never made the leap from drawings and engineering studies to full-scale construction. We have the original PDF proposal and science —> LINK HERE
The UN advertised its potential in 2001 but noted then that the $20M USD cost to build it was limiting. But nearly two decades after most people stopped talking about it, the concept is quietly evolving in two unexpected places: China and Iran. The concept let dreamers dream and doers do – figuring out more pleasing designs and engineering.
The Downdraft Energy Tower
China turns the Energy Tower into a climate machine
The Chinese methane paper, on the other hand, is much closer to the original Energy Tower because it explicitly describes spraying water into the top of the tower to create the downdraft, exactly as Carlson and Zaslavsky envisioned.
In 2023, researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Wuhan University of Technology and other institutions revisited the downdraft Energy Tower concept with a new purpose: removing methane from the atmosphere. Their study proposed that the humid air released from a downdraft tower could increase the formation of hydroxyl radicals, the atmosphere’s primary cleanser and the main natural sink for methane.
Downdraft Energy Tower (DET)
The researchers estimated that a tower 1,200 metres high and 400 metres in diameter could generate roughly 380 MW of electricity while simultaneously helping remove atmospheric methane. They calculated that a single Jordan-based tower could remove approximately 12.5 tonnes of methane per day under ideal conditions.
Whether those numbers hold up in practice remains to be seen. No commercial-scale downdraft Energy Tower has yet been built. But the research marks a remarkable shift. The tower is no longer viewed merely as a power plant. It is being reimagined as a tool for climate remediation.
Iran transforms the tower into a vertical oasis
Iranian Energy Tower
Meanwhile, a team of Iranian architects received an Honorable Mention in the 2025 Skyscraper Competition for their “Regenerative Tower” proposal on Iran’s Makran coast.
Unlike Zaslavsky’s energy-focused concept, the Iranian project imagines the tower as an entire ecosystem. The design combines wind energy generation, atmospheric water harvesting, food production, housing and climate adaptation in a single 200-metre structure.
The tower’s twin wind shafts generate energy. A butterfly-like exoskeleton captures moisture from the air. Vertical farms produce vegetables, fruit and medicinal crops. Residential rings provide shaded housing inspired by traditional Baluchi architecture. The project claims it could generate up to 15,000 litres of water per day while recycling nearly all of its water in a closed-loop system.
Iran’s Energy Tower
Although the project does not explicitly employ the classic evaporative downdraft system developed by Carlson and Zaslavsky, its philosophy is strikingly similar: use desert heat, wind and humidity not as obstacles but as resources.
What links these projects is not simply a tower. It is a way of thinking.
Carlson and Zaslavsky believed deserts should not be viewed as barren landscapes waiting for resources to be imported. They believed deserts themselves contained enormous untapped energy. Heat, dryness, wind and seawater could be transformed into electricity, water and prosperity.
China’s methane-removal research expands the concept into the realm of climate engineering. Iran’s Regenerative Tower expands it into urban design and community resilience.
Neither project has yet delivered a functioning tower. But both suggest that Zaslavsky’s dream may have been ahead of its time. From the engineering literature, Carlson appears to have been an American engineer/inventor, and the concept emerged in the United States before being adopted and extensively studied in Israel during the 1970s–1990s. The Israeli work is much better documented than Carlson’s own biography.
Nearly half a century after its invention, Dan Zaslavsky’s giant Energy Tower may finally be finding its moment.
Technion researchers have developed, for the first time, a comprehensive physical model explaining how the properties of a radiating material, including absorption, emission, and quantum efficiency, affect the fundamental characteristics of the light it emits as a function of temperature. In essence, the emitted light changes its color, intensity, and randomness according to the material’s properties and its temperature. The discovery was published in Optica and opens new possibilities for designing advanced light sources, optical sensors, and thermally based photonic systems.
The research was led by M.Sc. student Tomer Bar-Lev and Prof. Carmel Rotschild from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion. According to the researchers, the central phenomenon examined in this work is photoluminescence, a process in which a material emits light in response to incident illumination. In this phenomenon, light particles (photons) are absorbed by the material and re-emitted, forming the basis of many technologies, including LED lighting and optical sensors.
The Technion researchers demonstrated that the influence of fundamental physical laws formulated more than a century ago is far broader than previously thought.
At the beginning of the 20th century, physicist Max Planck showed that a body in thermodynamic equilibrium emits radiation depending on its temperature and material properties. Another German physicist, Gustav Kirchhoff, showed that under the same conditions, a material’s absorption and emission properties must be identical.
The new work by Technion researchers extends beyond the specific case of thermal radiation to all types of radiation, generalizing the relationship between matter and radiation out of equilibrium. Moreover, in their paper, they present a general equation that enables prediction and, crucially, design of the nature of light emitted from luminescent materials.
The new model describes how increasing temperature gradually transforms the emitted light, from well-defined, narrowband emission, such as that of an LED, to broad, multicolored radiation like sunlight. In doing so, the model fully explains, for the first time, how these two phenomena are fundamentally connected.
This scientific discovery paves the way for controlling the properties of light simply by adjusting temperature. Potential future developments include advanced optical devices, communications technologies, precise sensing, and applications in optical cooling and heat management.
According to Prof. Rotschild, “The model we developed provides a broad foundation for understanding light properties and for designing radiation sources with the material characteristics we desire. It offers a new physical framework for the light sources of the next generation.”
From cultivated milk to sustainable proteins, Technion researchers and graduates are reshaping the future of food
The way the world eats is changing rapidly. As global populations grow, climate pressures intensify and consumers seek healthier, more sustainable alternatives, food technology has emerged as one of the defining industries of the 21st century. At the forefront of this revolution stands the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Featured recently in The Jewish Chronicle, Technion Professor Uri Lesmes highlighted how Israel has become a global centre for food innovation, with Technion researchers, graduates and entrepreneurs leading advances that could transform nutrition, sustainability and food production worldwide.
Reimagining dairy
One of the most exciting examples is Remilk, the Israeli start-up co-founded by two former Technion students. The company has developed a groundbreaking method of producing dairy proteins without cows.
Using precision fermentation, scientists insert the gene responsible for milk protein production into yeast cells. The yeast then produces proteins that are molecularly identical to those found in cow’s milk. The result is a dairy product that contains the same essential proteins, but without lactose, cholesterol, hormones or antibiotics.
This innovation has the potential to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of dairy farming while maintaining the taste, texture and nutritional value consumers expect.
Israel became the first country in the world to approve the sale of lab-grown and alternative proteins in 2024, cementing its reputation as a global food-tech leader. The sector has attracted billions in investment and continues to expand rapidly.
Innovation with purpose
Professor Lesmes, from the Technion’s Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering in Haifa, is helping train the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs who will shape the future of nutrition.
His work focuses not only on technological breakthroughs, but also on improving public health and accessibility. Among the challenges being tackled are the nutritional needs of ageing populations, healthier processed foods and more sustainable methods of production.
“We’re trained to think about what other people are missing, or what they think is impossible – and then we try to do it,” Professor Lesmes said.
That mindset reflects the wider Technion culture: combining scientific excellence with practical problem-solving that can improve lives around the world.
Food security and resilience
The importance of food innovation has become even more pronounced in recent years. Since October 7, many Israeli researchers and students have also contributed directly to national resilience efforts.
Professor Lesmes himself worked with IDF units to improve nutrition for combat soldiers, helping develop sterilised, ready-to-eat meals suited to frontline conditions.
At the same time, Technion students continue to launch new ventures addressing food security, sustainability and nutrition challenges on a global scale.
From the laboratory to the supermarket
What once sounded like science fiction is increasingly becoming reality. Alternative dairy products, cultivated proteins and advanced nutritional technologies are already reaching supermarket shelves.
Companies founded by Technion graduates are helping redefine how food is produced and consumed, while demonstrating how scientific research can translate into real-world impact.
The Technion’s unique ecosystem — bringing together world-class researchers, ambitious students and close industry collaboration — has positioned Israel as one of the world’s leading food-tech hubs.
Supporting the next generation of innovators
Technion UK is proud to support the pioneering research, education and entrepreneurship taking place at the Technion.
From sustainable food systems to medical breakthroughs, Technion scientists are addressing some of the greatest challenges facing humanity.
As the world searches for smarter, cleaner and more resilient ways to feed future generations, Technion innovation is helping turn pure imagination into reality.
Israeli startup ZyG, founded by alumni of ironSource, has raised $60 million in a Series A round at a valuation of $500 million. The round comes just a year after the company’s founding and shortly after it emerged from stealth, bringing total funding to $118 million.
The financing was led by Accel, with participation from existing investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Viola Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Access Industries (Clal Tech), Stardom Ventures, Emerge, Disruptive AI, and Jibe. New investors Felix Capital, O.G. Venture Partners, QP Ventures, and Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport also joined the round. Sonali De Rycker, partner at Accel, will join the company’s board of directors.
ZyG was recently ranked fourth in Calcalist’s list of most promising startups for 2026.
The company was founded in 2025 by a group of former ironSource executives and employees following the company’s sale to Unity. Its founders include Tomer Bar-Zeev (Chairman), Omer Kaplan (CEO), Assaf Ben Ami (CFO & COO), Nadav Ashkenazy, and Daniel Shinar, alongside cybersecurity and artificial intelligence experts from Unit 81: Dr. Eyal Amitt, Omri Steinmetz, and Guy Tsur. The company currently employs 65 people.
ZyG has developed a platform aimed at addressing key challenges in the e-commerce sector through artificial intelligence. The system identifies products with high growth potential using advanced data models, assigning each a proprietary “ZyG Score.”
For products that receive a high score, the platform functions as an end-to-end operating system, managing the full lifecycle of scaling a product. This includes building online stores, developing brands, creating advertising campaigns, executing digital marketing strategies, optimising search and AI-driven discovery, working with influencers, handling customer acquisition and retention, and improving logistics, all within a unified platform.
“Shopify and Amazon opened the door for anyone who wants to start selling online. But shifting from selling to scaling remains overwhelmingly complex. It forces founders to manage fragmented tools, siloed data, and the many teams or agencies needed to execute every aspect of scale,” said Omer Kaplan, CEO and Co-Founder of ZyG. “ZyG OS flips that model with an end-to-end solution that solves the entire problem, not pieces of it. With a complex agentic infrastructure, ZyG OS executes the endless elements needed to scale, freeing founders to focus on building great products.”
