Aggressive Competition Over Talent Hurts Israeli Tech, Says Head of LeumiTech

Speaking at the Mind the Tech conference in New York, Yaakov (Koby) Haber, chairman of Israel's Bank Leumi subsidiary LeumiTech Ltd., gave a positive review of the Israeli tech sector in 2017. According to Mr. Haber, in 2017 there were 70 mergers and acquisitions of Israeli tech companies with average revenue of $106 million, compared with $64 million in 2016. Israeli tech companies brought in $15.2 billion in funding in over 600 deals, Mr. Haber said.

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Mr. Haber noted that these numbers do not include 2017’s two largest deals, the acquisition of automotive chip company Mobileye by Intel for over $15 billion, and the sale of drug company NeuroDerm ltd. to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for $1.1 billion.

Despite the continued growth of Israeli tech, Mr. Haber said that the aggressive competition over tech talent should bother those who wish to see Israeli tech prevailing. Mr. Haber called on the Israeli government to act to increase the supply of skilled and trained tech employees. One way to achieve this, he said, was to encourage groups who have been underrepresented in the industry, such as women, ultra-orthodox Jews, and Arabs with Israeli citizenships, to study the tech professions.