Medical robotics first entered general surgery in the 1980s with laparoscopic tools that enabled minimally invasive procedures, reducing incision size and recovery time. These early systems extended surgeons’ capabilities, transforming the surgical landscape.

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is ushering in a new era of precision and control in the operating room. Yet despite this progress, robotic systems remain limited to select procedures, leaving most surgeries dependent on traditional methods — and many patients without the benefits of enhanced consistency and outcomes.

As medical technology continues to evolve, how can AI applications in surgical robotics scale to transform healthcare on a broader level?

Fueled by increased robotic VC funding and the digital transformation of the last five years, the robotics industry is seeing fast-tracked market results with no signs of stopping. Earlier this year, Nvidia announced its intent to increase investments in its robot development, signaling a positive shift for the future of robotics. Similar investments in robotics by large-scale players will further advance robotic technology through data collection and machine learning, while providing additional resources and insights.

Surgical robotics industry leaders, such as Intuitive Surgical, Medtronic, and Stryker, have pioneered robotic-assisted surgeries for various procedures. Since introducing its da Vinci system for general surgery in 2000, Intuitive Surgical has continued to iterate its robotic platform to expand its offerings to cardiac, bariatric, gynecology, and thoracic surgeries, among others. With the mass adoption of robotic-assisted surgeries, surgical robotics have consistently been adopted at a faster scale. Between 2012 and 2018 alone, robotic-assisted procedures rose 738% in general surgery.

Looking ahead, surgical robotics have even greater market potential, and are predicted to grow to over $14 billion by 2026 – up from just over $10 billion in 2023. This is mainly due to greater access to robotic surgery procedures, advancements in automation and digital technologies, and new players who aim to deliver cutting-edge medical solutions that harness the power of AI.

Deep Tech Approach

Built on the intersection of disciplines, deep tech merges multidisciplinary technologies such as AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, and robotics to usher in a new era of technology. Startups embracing a deep tech approach in robotic surgery are creating innovative solutions for the future, as can be seen in healthtech development, which can improve patient access to critical medical care. With deep tech development, surgical procedures may become fully automated down the road, requiring minimal surgeon assistance and significantly expanding access to treatment.

Emerging deep tech technologies in surgical robotics can make a lasting global impact. With roughly two-thirds of the worldwide population – 5 billion people – lacking access to surgical treatment, these new modalities, powered by AI, can expand general access and close the surgical care gap.

Fusing AI and Surgical Robotics

AI has innovated and changed how we interact with different technologies and each other. Over the last five years, the transformation brought on by AI has accelerated the development of robotics and created additional applications for AI within different modalities, including robotic surgery.

Here are three essential ways AI is making a fast and profound impact:

1. Embodied AI

Technology is changing how we interact with our environment and the people around us. Embodied AI, which includes autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, is the fusion of AI with physical systems to execute complex tasks in real-world settings. When embodied AI is applied to surgical robotics, it has the potential to have long-lasting impacts on enhancing surgical care and improving existing techniques. However, embodied AI requires significant real-world data to develop training simulation models, which are used to train and expand AI capabilities and improve data-driven insights. Until recently, access to large amounts of training data has been somewhat limited; however, as the industry continues to invest in the training and development of AI models, the simulated data pools are growing at a quicker pace and improving embodied AI functionality.

2. Continuous Data Insights and Guidance

AI-based systems can absorb and comprehend large swaths of information in seconds – much faster than the human brain. By training machines on large data sets, data-driven insights can inform surgical decisions before surgeons even set foot in the OR. AI-driven training simulations can significantly benefit surgeons, as training on data sets that are based on thousands of surgeries provide surgeons with trends and techniques to deliver a better patient experience, and also allow them to prepare for and understand the intricacies of rare or complex cases before they face them in the OR. This process can significantly accelerate and shorten the long learning curve surgeons face when training to reach peak surgical performance.

When applied to real-time imaging and visualization technologies, AI-driven data can also enhance surgeons’ decision-making capabilities during operations. By providing surgeons with insights to adjust surgical plans during procedures, AI-based systems can empower surgeons to optimize techniques and approaches in real-time. Through AI-driven imaging systems, surgeons can receive advanced imaging analytics and real-time 3D “maps” of the surgical sites. These augmented overlays can give surgeons expanded insights into the surgical field alongside real-time feedback on their surgical techniques. Robotic surgery platforms are at the forefront of integrating this technology into the OR, with the goal of increasing surgical precision and outcomes.

Furthermore, by providing ongoing feedback post-operation, AI-based systems can provide valuable feedback to surgeons about their performances during procedures – highlighting weaknesses and strengths, and suggesting specific strategies on how to improve them. Such platforms can also recommend new treatment plans based on each patient’s history and the particular procedure’s data analysis, and empower surgeons with additional information that can enhance further treatment. As such, AI platforms have the potential to absorb and adapt surgical feedback throughout the full surgical cycle (before, during, and after) through an AI feedback loop to increase surgeons’ precision and performance.

3. Increased Accuracy and Precision

Individual surgical skills often vary among surgeons due to their access to top-tier opportunities, from program location to surgical mentorship access. For instance,  the field of ophthalmology has a steep learning curve. On average, it takes at least 15 years of training and surgical experience to reach peak performance as an ophthalmic surgeon. With a growing aging population and a dwindling number of surgeons, a new solution is needed to reduce the surgeon’s training period and standardize the accuracy and precision of care for all.

In addition to reducing the learning curve for surgeons and allowing them to reach peak performance faster, introducing AI-based platforms into the surgical process can increase accuracy and precision and may improve suboptimal outcomes. Semi-autonomous and increasingly autonomous features in robotic platforms can eliminate the surgeon’s natural hand tremor and improve overall precision and accuracy, thus improving clinical outcomes. In addition, the ability of AI-based systems to recognize unique anatomical structures and provide the exact location for incisions and other surgical steps – especially in complex procedures or anatomical areas – can significantly reduce the rate of surgeon errors by improving spatial awareness of anatomical structures. As such, all surgeons utilizing AI-based systems will be able to provide consistently more precise care.

When incorporated into the surgical process, AI-based robotic platforms provide invaluable insights that can enhance the overall experience for both the patient and the surgeon.

Conclusion

AI will continue to play a significant role in advancing healthcare in the future. Incorporating advanced AI technologies into our healthcare services, such as electronic filing, diagnostics, and health monitoring and tracking, as well as surgical care, is imperative. In doing so, we can improve the overall patient and surgeon experience.

In robotic surgery, AI  is expediting the technology’s transformation and patient access to consistent, high-tier treatment. Advancements in robotics, coupled with AI and automation, will continue to usher in new applications, creating a higher level of standardised care and launching healthcare quality and access to new heights.

Technion team discover proteins in human breast milk can help deliver sensitive medical compounds, such as vaccines and insulin, through digestive system into bloodstream

Technion Prof. Assaf Zinger is working to make medications and vaccines more accessible by allowing people to take them in liquid form rather than by injection. The concept is based on how breastmilk delivers sensitive compounds directly into the bloodstream via the digestive system, which his team aims to replicate. They plan to combine nanoparticles and breast milk proteins, which they believe could develop into “taxis” to transport drugs, vaccines, and other vital compounds into the bloodstream. Such a breakthrough could help prevent and treat conditions such as inflammation, diabetes, infections, cancer, and malnutrition, significantly improving patient care, particularly for those with chronic or acute illnesses. Their study was recently published in the Journal of Controlled Release.

Imagine a world where antibodies, proteins such as insulin, and even COVID-19 and flu vaccines could be consumed orally instead of injected. This vision is closer than ever. The fundamental idea is to make medications and vaccines more accessible by allowing people to take them in liquid form rather than by injection.

The inspiration for this research came from home—literally. Dr. Asaf Singer, a researcher at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, observed his wife, Noa, breastfeeding their two daughters. He wondered how breast milk could naturally deliver so many essential substances to infants. 

The deeper he delved into the topic, the more he realized that breast milk is far more than just nutrition—it is a sophisticated biological transport system capable of something that medicine has long struggled with: delivering sensitive compounds directly into the bloodstream via the digestive system. This is exactly what his research team aims to replicate.

Their study was recently published in the Journal of Controlled Release under the title: “Harnessing the Potential of Human Breast Milk to Enhance Intestinal Permeability for Nanoparticles and Macromolecules.” Conducted in collaboration with two Technion faculties, the research highlights the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation.

The Secret of Breast Milk

Breast milk is a remarkable fluid containing a wide range of essential components. To affect an infant’s health, these substances must pass from the digestive system into the bloodstream. This requires crossing biological barriers, including the intestinal barrier—a large membrane separating the inside of the gut from the circulatory system. The body typically distinguishes between beneficial and harmful substances, which is why some oral medications fail to reach their intended targets. However, breast milk contains special proteins that “convince” the body to let them pass.

Doctoral student Si Naftaly, who co-led the study with Singer, posed a crucial question: If substances in breast milk can cross this barrier, then the milk must contain “keys” that enable them to do so. What are these keys? To investigate, the researchers compared human breast milk, cow’s milk, and infant formula. Breast milk demonstrated the highest permeability through the intestinal barrier.

To conduct the research, a significant supply of breast milk was needed. Due to the October 7 attack and its aftermath, breast milk donations in Israel were directed toward orphans. As a result, the research team turned to mothers at the Technion to collect donations for the study.

How Does It Work?

The study uncovered a key mechanism: a natural protein coating from breast milk, termed Human Breast Milk Protein Corona, which facilitates the passage of nanoparticles (ultra-small particles) through the intestinal wall. This discovery was confirmed in both human intestinal cells and pig intestines, which closely resemble human digestive physiology.

Breast milk serves as the primary, and sometimes only, source of nutrition for infants. It is a complex and dynamic liquid that adapts to a baby’s needs, supplying enzymes, growth factors, hormones, antibodies, nucleic acids, extracellular vesicles, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and cells. These components are crucial for the development of various bodily systems. Unlike infant formula, which is uniform in composition, breast milk varies based on numerous factors related to the mother. Awareness of its medical value has grown in recent years, and it is now recognised as a natural remedy for various diseases, particularly those affecting the intestines.

The study provides a solution for delivering nanoparticles and molecules from the digestive system to the bloodstream. Based on these findings, the next step is an engineering and applied research phase—developing nanoparticles that mimic this mechanism, ensuring their successful passage through the intestinal barrier. These nanoparticles could carry various medical payloads, including RNA vaccines, proteins, and contrast agents for imaging. Their protective properties help shield medical compounds from the harsh conditions of the digestive system, making them a promising drug delivery method.

What Does This Mean for the Future of Vaccines?

By combining two natural elements—nanoparticles and breast milk proteins—the researchers believe they can develop tiny “taxis” to transport drugs, vaccines, and other vital compounds into the bloodstream. This concept could revolutionize medicine by replacing injections with orally administered treatments. Such a breakthrough could help prevent and treat conditions such as inflammation, diabetes, infections, cancer, and malnutrition, significantly improving patient care, particularly for those with chronic or acute illnesses.

The study was led by Dr. Asaf Singer and doctoral student Si Naftaly, along with Prof. Maya Davidovich-Pinhas from the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion, and four additional students from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering. 

It was supported by the Israel Science Foundation, the Israel Cancer Research Fund, the Stuart & Linda Resnick Sustainability and Catalysis Institute at the Technion, the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, the Bruce & Ruth Rappaport Cancer Research Institute, the Alon Fellowship, the Noam Seiden Fellowship in Nanotechnology and Optoelectronics, and the European Research Council’s “Milkosomes” grant.

The company is developing DeltaStem, an AI-driven platform designed to improve the production of human cells for therapeutic use.

Somite AI, a biotechnology company developing AI tools for human cell therapy, has raised over $47 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures. Other participants include Max Levchin’s SciFi Ventures, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Fusion Fund, Ajinomoto, Pitango HealthTech, TechAviv, Harpoon Ventures, along with angel investor and former Chairman of Recursion, Dr. R. Martin Chavez.

The company, which once called itself “the OpenAI of stem cell biology”, has also welcomed its new CEO of Applications and Board Member Fidji Simo as an investor. Earlier investors included Texas Venture Partners, and this new round brings its total funding to roughly $60 million.

Somite AI is developing DeltaStem, an AI-driven platform designed to improve the production of human cells for therapeutic use. The new funding will advance its capabilities and support programs targeting Type 1 Diabetes, orthopedic injuries, muscular diseases, and blood disorders.

“We’re building the foundation model for the human cell,” said Founder and CEO Dr. Micha Breakstone. “By generating the world’s largest cell signaling dataset at 1000x the efficiency of current methods, we’re training DeltaStem to deliver protocols with unmatched purity, scalability, and reliability. We are rapidly driving towards an AlphaFold moment for developmental biology, enabling the scalable production of any cell, for anyone.”

Somite AI’s capsule technology generates large-scale cell state transition data that feeds into the DeltaStem model. According to the company, this allows faster development of cell differentiation protocols compared to traditional approaches.

“I think we’re really at a dawn of a new age where we’re really using or leveraging AI to usher in this new age or era of human regeneration and repair,” Breakstone added, in an interview with CTech. “I think if you believe in AI and the exciting opportunities that it yields and the ability to make us more creative, smarter, more intelligent, more prosperous, I think the next frontier is actually not resigning ourselves to letting our own body deteriorate. I think that is what Somite is about: to come in and replenish the body with our own types of cells, but any type of cell to cure diseases. That’s the next level of prosperity and abundance that we want to be ushering in.”

Somite AI was co-founded by Breakstone, a serial AI entrepreneur, and Dr. Jonathan Rosenfeld, Head of the Fundamental AI Group at MIT. Other co-founders include Harvard and University of Washington researchers Prof. Olivier Pourquié, Prof. Allon Klein, Prof. Jay Shendure, and Prof. Cliff Tabin.

“Traditional cell therapies are expensive, slow to develop, and unpredictable. AI can systematically solve these challenges,” added Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures. “Somite AI’s foundation models, once fully developed and validated, will not only create value for their own pipeline, but have the potential to reshape the entire field of human cell therapy.”

The early-stage startups will benefit from a three-month partnership with the semiconductor giant and other multinational corporations.

Ten of Israel’s brightest new hopes in the world of deep tech – complex innovations to solve the world’s toughest problems – have been selected for an intensive nurturing program.

The early-stage startups will benefit from a three-month partnership with the semiconductor giant Intel and other multinational corporations.

They were selected by Ignite DeepTech — a new independent accelerator inspired by Intel’s Intel Ignite initiative — from 258 applicants working to drive significant change in many sectors: cybersecurity, AI applications and infrastructure, data and cloud infrastructure, biotechnology, drones and robotics, particle accelerators, quantum technologies, developer tools and road safety.

Ignite DeepTech is supported by the Israel Innovation Authority and Israel’s Economy Ministry.

The Ignite DeepTech startups benefit from the hands-on guidance of experienced entrepreneurs, who don’t take equity. They also receive tailored, intensive support focusing on product-market fit, preparation for advanced funding rounds, looking after their mental health, product development, business strategy, marketing and customer management.

Many of the 10 chosen startups are still in stealth mode – operating under the radar while they develop their technology, to avoid tipping off competitors.

But here’s what we do know about them:

  • SkyPulse Technologies – Fast, agile, flexible made-in-Israel drones with high-end capabilities, designed for affordability and versatility in critical missions.
  • DYM sense – Revolutionising road safety with noninvasive alcohol detection technology that prevents drunk driving.
  • Impala.ai – A platform that allows companies to run large AI models and process vast datasets efficiently, making high-performance AI accessible and scalable for businesses.
  • MNDL Bio – AI-powered solutions that optimize gene expression and significantly increase protein production yields for companies that use genetic engineering.
  • DataFlint – A user-friendly platform that helps organizations using Apache Spark (for big data analytics) to quickly identify and fix performance bottlenecks in their systems.
  • Particle Lab – Pioneering a new architecture for particle accelerators (think Large Hadron Collider, in Geneva, but generally much smaller).
  • Troup AI – An LLM (large language model) inference platform, which means it infers, rather than relying on being fed data to be trained.
  • Twine Security – AI-powered digital employees, including one called Alex, who can perform cybersecurity tasks instead of humans.
  • Huskeys – An AI-powered security platform that defends against sophisticated, dynamic cyberattacks.
  • Jazz –  Cybersecurity.

Alon Leibovich, managing director of Ignite DeepTech, said: “We expect the deep-tech sector to experience explosive growth in the coming years, tackling real-world challenges like spacecraft, robotics, energy, and more.

“We’re excited to support the trailblazing startups selected for this program. Alongside our new programs for pre-seed startups and deep-tech executive training, this brings us closer to realizing our vision of a full support platform for Israel’s deep tech industry.”

Nature Reviews Clean Technology spotlights Decoupled Water Electrolysis (DWE) – a novel approach to green hydrogen production pioneered by H2Pro that solves key challenges in direct connection to solar and wind.

For decades, water electrolysis has remained stagnant, relying on conventional technologies like alkaline and PEM, where ongoing development yields only incremental gains in overcoming the barriers to affordable green hydrogen production. Now, a new category is gaining global recognition: DWE – an approach that tackles these challenges with fresh thinking. At the center of its rise is Israeli climate tech company H2Pro, whose bold reimagining of electrolysis is featured in a landmark review in Nature Reviews Clean Technology.

The article highlights a critical challenge: conventional electrolyzers struggle to operate safely and efficiently under fluctuating solar and wind power. Membranes, gas crossover risks, and operational constraints limit their ability to respond dynamically to intermittent renewable energy, driving up costs and limiting deployment.

“To unlock the full value of cheap renewable electricity, we need electrolysis that can go behind the meter and be fit for green – hyper-flexible, ultra-low cost, seamless on/off, and efficient across a wide range of power loads,” said Rotem Arad, CBO of H2Pro and article contributor. “By splitting hydrogen and oxygen into two distinct steps, mediated by a proprietary redox cycle, that’s exactly what H2Pro’s DWE does.”

The review was co-authored by Prof. Avner Rothschild and Dr. Guilin Ruan (Technion – Israel Institute of Technology), Dr. Fiona Todman and Prof. Mark D. Symes (University of Glasgow), Dr. Tom Smolinka (Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE), Prof. Jens Oluf Jensen (DTU – Technical University of Denmark), Gilad Yogev and Rotem Arad (H2Pro). Together, they examine the chemistry, system architectures, and commercial implications of decoupling hydrogen and oxygen — and validate growing consensus that DWE could be key to scaling green hydrogen cost-effectively.

“When we conducted the groundbreaking Technion research that became the foundation for H2Pro, we knew incremental improvements to legacy electrolysis weren’t enough,” said Dr. Hen Dotan, CTO and co-founder of H2Pro. “We let go of outdated assumptions — like the belief that hydrogen and oxygen must be produced simultaneously — and ended up pioneering not just a breakthrough technology, but a new mindset around electrolysis. We’re thrilled to see DWE gaining momentum and honored to be featured alongside the esteemed researchers advancing the field.”

H2Pro is now preparing to deploy the world’s first decoupled electrolysis system in the field — a major step in translating science into scalable commercial infrastructure. Scheduled for installation this year in Tziporit, Israel, it will also be the country’s first green hydrogen project.

Odysight.ai’s technology allows for constant monitoring of aircraft, sending alerts in case of malfunctions that could lead to accidents.

Israeli company Odysight.AI is working to reduce airplane accidents and make aviation safer. Odysight’s AI-based visual sensing technology monitors the conditions and critical safety components of hard-to-reach environments, such as planes, for the early detection of potential malfunctions that could lead to accidents. The system sends out an alert anytime it detects an anomaly. In addition to improving safety, the system significantly reduces maintenance costs and labor. The company has offices in Israel and the United States and plans to open bureaus in Europe this year. Odysight.AI CTO Eli Israeli is a Technion alumnus.

News reports over the past year indicate that airplane accidents are increasing. 

According to a report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the number of fatal air accidents in 2024 rose to seven with 244 fatalities, compared to 2023’s one fatal accident that resulted in 72 deaths. 

The data does not include deaths from security-related aviation incidents such as the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines jet — allegedly brought down by a Russian missile — that killed 38 people.  

In the report, the IATA described the increase as “a top concern for aviation safety requiring urgent global coordination.”

Odysight.ia

Now, Israeli company Odysight.ia (a combination of the words “odyssey,” “sight” and “artificial intelligence”) is working to reduce airplane accidents and make aviation generally safer. 

“We are changing the aviation world,” Odysight’s CEO, Col. (ret.) Yehuda Ofer, an entrepreneur and ex-Israeli Air Force pilot. 

Odysight’s AI-based visual sensing technology monitors the conditions and critical safety components of hard-to-reach environments, such as planes, for the early detection of potential malfunctions that could lead to accidents. 

Anytime the system detects an anomaly, it sends out an alert. The system is essentially a kit — a small, advanced computer with a set of specialized sensors, unique operating system, and levels of visual analytics and algorithms technologies.

“Our algorithm creates not only an alert in real time for the anomaly, but also a prediction, which is a crucial part of the technology. If you can see things that are there, but normally cannot be monitored, you have very valuable data for all the chain of maintenance,” says Ofer.

Alongside increasing safety, the system is said to significantly reduce maintenance costs and labor. “The most expensive thing in aviation for an aircraft is time on the ground” to carry out safety procedures, notes Ofer. 

Odysight also lowers costs because fewer maintenance personnel are required and the system can be more reliable than human employees, who are less and less inclined to go into this profession. 

“Our system does not go out for the weekend, does not drink, does not have a girlfriend; it is just there, watching and monitoring all the time,” adds Ofer.

From health to NASA

Founded in 2013 under the name ScoutCam, the company’s technology was initially developed for medical use to treat gastrointestinal disorders and perform minimally invasive surgeries. 

It was established by Prof. Benad Goldwasser, a veteran Israeli urological surgeon and a founder of several successful medical startups. 

In 2020, the company changed its name and pivoted its focus from health to aviation after the IAF approached the startup, asking for a potential solution following a helicopter accident that resulted in a crash. 

Odysight is still involved in the medical field, but “it’s not our main focus,” says Ofer, who has been with the company since 2022. 

Since pivoting, Odysight’s technology has been used by NASA in its Robotic Refuelling Mission 3.

“It’s a robot that goes outside of the space shuttle and attaches to a dead satellite in orbit, checking the fuel systems. If everything is okay — no cracks, no leaks — you can refuel the dead satellite,” explains Ofer.

Pioneers

Ofer says the big vision for the company is to expand and become the sector leader. “We are already pioneers, and we want to create a better and safer world,” he says.

Odysight recently became the first Israeli startup to announce an initial public offering in 2025, uplisting to Nasdaq with an IPO priced at $21.5 million at a company valuation of $129 million. 

“We raised the funds that are required, as well as sales and backlog,” adds Ofer.

The company employs 60 workers across its offices in Israel and the United States, and plans to open bureaus in Europe this year. 

One of the Israeli offices is located in Omer, some 40 km (25 miles) from Gaza in southern Israel. 

“We have people here from different industries and backgrounds, who never stopped working throughout the war, not even for one day,” Ofer tells. 

“The best of technologies cannot go forward from being a vision to a real capability without the people who are making the difference. It’s the people that push us forward.”

The Technion is the only Israeli university in the top 100 and ranks 89th worldwide

The U.S. National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has ranked the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology  first in Israel and second in Europe for the number of U.S. patents approved in  2024, with 43 patents registered last year. The Technion is the only Israeli university on this prestigious list, placing 89th globally.

Rona Samler, general manager of T3 – the Technion’s commercialisation unit, stated:

“I am extremely proud of our ranking among the world’s top 100 universities and our first-place standing in Israel for the fourth consecutive year. This recognition is a testament to the excellence of Technion researchers in scientific and engineering innovation and the institution’s strength in translating ideas into research and research into world-changing technologies. This is one of the key ways the Technion makes a lasting impact on society and the economy.”

Patent registration in the U.S. enables academic institutions to transform groundbreaking technologies into competitive global products, significantly benefiting consumers and industries worldwide.

Dr. Paul Sanberg, president of the NAI, emphasised: “By recognising this crucial step in the commercialisation process, we highlight the role of intellectual property in benefiting inventors and institutions while encouraging the development of technologies with a potentially significant societal and economic impact.”

The NAI ranking is based on data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for 2024 and includes 100 institutions and 9,600 patents.

Israeli medical startup AISAP, which is pioneering AI-driven diagnostics, has been recognised as one of the world’s most innovative and promising companies for 2025 by Fast Company. AISAP secured fourth place globally in the healthcare category, a remarkable achievement that underscores the international recognition of its groundbreaking technology and its impact on the future of medicine. One of their products, AISAP CARDIO, is the world’s first real-time AI-powered cardiac diagnostic platform. AISAP Co-founder Ehud Raanani is a Technion alumnus.

Autonomous Flying Cowboys Manage Livestock More Efficiently: Israeli tech startup BeeFree Agro has just delivered its first fleet of “autonomous flying cowboys” to a paying customer. The robots are eyes in the sky that will transform the way the world’s beef cattle are farmed. The drones supply a live feed for 30-minute missions over a ranch and provide high-resolution pictures that show the precise GPS location of every single cow, providing an exact count. Its first system went live in January in Brazil, where it currently manages around 3 million cattle. BeeFree Agro Co-founder and COO Dvir Cohen is a Technion alumnus.

The Woman Behind the Billion-Dollar Brain Surgery Breakthrough:Technion alumna Nora Nseir, founder and co-CEO of Nurami Medical, was recently featured by CTech in an informative Q&A. Nora speaks about founding the company with her partner, Dr. Amir Bahar, their products (which include an internal gel seal that degrades within the body once a wound is healed and a suture-free adhesive that can replace damaged meningeal tissue until new tissue grows), funding rounds, and more.

Ten Israeli-founded firms were chosen for this year’s Fast Company Most Innovative Companies lists in specific categories, three of which have Technion connections. In the enterprise category, aiOla is featured for helping industry reduce paper forms via AI and using AI-powered speech recognition for tasks like vehicle safety. In the security category, Dazz was featured for using AI to help find and fix critical issues within cloud infrastructures. And Silverfort, also in the security category, was featured for protecting every login and account in an enterprise. aiOla COO Alon Peleg, Dazz Co-founder and CEO Merav Bahat, and Silverfort Co-founder and CTO Yaron Kassner are all Technion alumni.

Conversational AI pioneer aiOla is cited for “rescuing legacy industries from paper forms via AI,” using AI-powered speech recognition for tasks like vehicle safety inspections in more than 120 languages spoken in various accents.

Dazz appears in the security category “for using AI to help find and fix critical issues within cloud infrastructures.” The startup was acquired by Israeli unicorn Wiz at the end of 2024 for approximately $450 million. (Wiz itself is in the midst of acquisition by Alphabet for a record $32 billion.)

Silverfort also won a place on the security category list, for “protecting every login and account in an enterprise.” The company focuses on identity security, integrating authentication into a single, easy-to-install platform that can instantly block compromised accounts, trigger multifactor authentication, and accelerate remediation time.

Israel’s oldest university is playing an integral role in tearing down walls between academia and business, helping the so-called “Startup Nation” better compete in future-facing industries at a time of rapid technological change. 

Technion — Israel Institute of Technology was founded in 1924, 24 years before the establishment of Israel, on the idea that if a Jewish state were to come into existence, it would first need technical expertise to develop the country. 

Most of Israel’s railroads, highways and bridges were designed and built by Technion grads, along with its advanced telecom infrastructure, desalination plants and electrical grid. Chip design, aerospace engineering and optoelectronics all have a home in the university, which awards about 30 percent of all Israel’s engineering undergraduate degrees and half of its Ph.Ds. Pioneering work in micro-electronics started at the Technion, and innovations like the Iron Dome air-defense system were developed by alumni.

“The impact is really unparalleled,” said Uri Sivan, president of the Technion, during a visit to Atlanta along with startups from Drive TLV, a mobility incubator in Tel Aviv. 

But that competitive edge is at risk for all universities that keep their inventions locked in ivory towers and fail to keep up with the adapting needs of companies. 

“I believe that universities … need to reposition themselves, or in a sense they’re going to become somewhat irrelevant,” he told a group of entrepreneurs and corporate development executives during a keynote at Curiosity Lab in Peachtree Corners. 

He pointed to a fundamental shift taking place at the nexus between education and practice. This “changing interface” requires educators to be nimble and open to new modes of collaboration, said Dr. Sivan, an expert in physics and nanotechnology.

“When I studied 40 years ago there was a clear dividing line — basic research done at the university and applied research in industry; academic degree at the university, training in industry. This line is completely blurring,” Dr. Sivan said.

This started in computer science with companies like Google and Microsoft, but it’s happening today in a wider variety of fields like AI and quantum computing, where companies are often the ones driving primary research forward. 

Universities, for their part, are also working more intently on how their research can address real-world problems. The Technion spins out about 15 companies per year, and the university has learned to embrace commercialization while remaining committed to its primary role of education, Dr. Sivan said.

As spinoffs increase by a factor of three to five per year, the question has become how to keep faculty engaged while also enabling them to explore ways to capitalize on their research.  The university already allows faculty to consult one day a week for companies and take leaves of absence of up to four years. 

“Very few don’t come back,” he said.  

He pointed to the Dyson Institute in England as a new model for integrating work and study.

While it’s accredited to grant engineering degrees, students also spend much of their time working directly for the vacuum and electronics innovator. 

“Students don’t pay tuition — zero tuition. They spend half the week in the company hub, doing research … and they get a salary. So you can see that this is a disruptive event for academia.” 

One solution for the Technion has been to invite innovators on-campus to create an optimal blend of theory and practice. PTC, a Boston-based software company that helps manufacturers simulate not only the physical design of their parts but also their thermal and electronic properties. 

“They moved a body of about 100 researchers moved into our campus, and they’re completely integrated now into our academic system. So their researchers take part in teaching, they take part in mentoring students, mentoring graduate students, and they actually built some research facilities that are now available to all researchers on campus,” Dr. Sivan said. 

The approach echoes that of Georgia Tech, which has been a magnet for corporate innovation centers in Midtown’s Tech Square. Dr. Sivan had meetings at the university during his Atlanta trip, soaking in the atmosphere of a growing tech hub. 

“There is an entrepreneurial spirit in the air. That’s where we would like to be,” he said. 

Technion has also created a new academic position that serves as a reciprocal of the common practice of professors acting as consultants for industry.

With Research Associates From Industry, business leaders with knowhow in critical sectors spend a day or two per week in the university setting, working with students directly and integrating into research projects. 

In a university with 600 faculty, some 60 associates have already joined, including Intel chip designers that are providing greater depth to existing courses. Meanwhile, they gain access to students and cutting-edge knowledge. 

“They’re exposed to research which is more blue-sky than what they do in their companies,” Dr. Sivan said. 

Capitalizing on Constraints

Israel is not new to seeding the links between researchers and entrepreneurs. The Israel Innovation Authority has long funded such initiatives, and in 1977, the country worked with the U.S. to establish the BIRD Foundation to underwrite joint innovation between U.S. and Israeli companies. The effort has led to 16 joint projects involving Georgia firms as recently as 2021. 

Dr. Sivan told Global Atlanta in an interview facilitated by the American Technion Society that Israel reached a “tipping point” in its innovation ecosystem years ago, in part because it has had to operate with constraints on funding and a small internal market that has force companies to look outward for growth and investment.

“You need necessity and you need constraints: If you have unlimited sums of money, and you don’t really have particular necessities, you don’t have to be creative,” he said. “Being a small country under constant stress from the outside, with limited resources and so on, I believe, drives people to innovation.”

Dr. Sivan said he would like to see the Technion deepen its institutional collaboration with Georgia Tech and added that he explored the idea during a meeting with his counterpart there, President Angel Cabrera. 

His speech during the Drive TLV event was followed by a panel on 2035: Shaping the Next Decade of Mobility with representatives from Honda Innovations, Wheels LLC and 19Y Advisors. Atlanta-based Cox Automotive and Novelis are partners in Drive TLV. 

Pitches followed from the latest (10th) batch of Drive TLV Fast Lane accelerator startups:

  • Arbell Energy Ltd. 
  • Deontic
  • dataspan.ai
  • Monogoto 
  • NUGEN 
  • Whilx Technologies