Israel Tech-Hub Status Hampered by Growth Slump, Talent Drought

Israel’s long-held status as a hotbed of tech innovation is under threat. Despite record venture capital investment last year in young technology companies, growth in the so-called “startup nation” is slowing.

While the tech sector grew faster than gross domestic product nearly every year between 1998 to 2009, in the five years following it surpassed national growth only once, in 2012. The Finance Ministry acknowledged in a February report there was a stagnation of the industry that fueled Israel’s economy for the past two decades.