"Our entrepreneurs are building the country with world-class, groundbreaking technologies"

This is the 16th year that Calcalist has ranked the 50 most promising private technology companies in Israel. To compile the list, we consulted a number of prominent investors, consultants, and entrepreneurs active in the Israeli market. We asked participants to identify the fastest-growing startups with the greatest potential to make significant business moves in the coming year, with an emphasis on companies not yet included in rating agency portfolios. After weighing the data and the range of expert opinions, Calcalist’s high-tech reporters and editors—well-versed in the inner workings of the tech sector—compiled this year’s list of the 50 most promising private technology companies.

At Calcalist's Tech Independence event, held on Sunday in collaboration with Bank Leumi and Playtika and hosted by songwriter and composer Doron Medalie, the most promising startups in Israel were celebrated. The list could easily have been dominated by cyber companies—long considered Israel’s most globally renowned tech sector—but taking the top spot is Decart, a startup aiming to revolutionize the field of artificial intelligence.

Prize winners Roy Danon, Co-Founder & CEO, Buildots, Dr. Jonathan Cohen, CTO & Co-Founder of Quantum Machines, Moshe Shalev, Co-Founder & CPO, Decart.

In second place is Quantum Machines, a standout Israeli player in the promising field of quantum computing. Third place went to Buildots, which has developed a high-tech solution to a challenge almost everyone has experienced: construction delays.

Calcalist publisher Yoel Esteron opened the event with pointed remarks: “This terrible government and this miserable Knesset will not bother to say thank you, but the State of Israel owes a debt of gratitude to the entrepreneurs who continue—even in difficult times—to energize our high-tech sector. Without high-tech, as we know, our economy has no future. So from this Calcalist stage, we say: thank you.”

LeumiTech CEO Maya Eisen Zafrir added: “This week we marked 77 years of independence for the State of Israel. In many ways, Israel has been a startup since its inception—a venture with vision, forged against the odds, overcoming countless obstacles, and succeeding through determination, creativity, and the unique ability to turn adversity into opportunity.

‘The Independence Tech Project’ annually highlights Israel's 50 most promising startups. It showcases a new generation of pioneers—entrepreneurs who are building the country with world-class, groundbreaking technologies across sectors like cyber, energy, environmental quality, medicine, defense, and more. This year, we saw leaders who continue to innovate despite facing challenges and complexities on a scale we’ve never experienced before.”

LeumiTech CEO Maya Eisen Zafrir.

Eisen Zafrir continued: “The Israeli tech innovator is born into challenge—even before becoming an entrepreneur. Overcoming difficulty is in our DNA. From that difficulty emerge resilience, flexibility, problem-solving skills, and a capacity to adapt quickly and creatively to changing realities. Israeli high-tech embodies contradictions and combinations that form a kind of secret ingredient—it’s what makes us unique.

"But no entrepreneur stands alone. One of the most defining features of Israeli entrepreneurship is the ecosystem that supports it. Alongside a mature market and proven companies, there is an environment that continues to push forward—offering help, support, and collaboration. This camaraderie, embedded deep in our national character, is difficult—if not impossible—to quantify, but it is one of the most powerful X-factors of Israeli industry on the global stage.”

She concluded by highlighting LeumiTech’s role in that ecosystem: “As a partner to thousands of startups, growth companies, and funds over the years, LeumiTech is proud to help entrepreneurs build the right foundation, reduce uncertainty, plan ahead, and scale globally. We're also working to diversify funding sources and accelerate innovation—like with the 77 Fund, which offers $77 million in an innovative investment model during fundraising rounds. We’ve just completed initial deals, and we’re encouraged to see the industry embracing bold new tools—not only in technology, but in the services that support it.

"On this Independence Day, there’s much to be proud of—not only in what we’ve achieved, but in how we achieved it: through complexity, tenacity, and a vision that never stops expanding. Israeli entrepreneurship could not have flourished anywhere else. Truly, we have no other Startup Nation.”