\u201cTherefore, in times of geopolitical uncertainty, it was even harder to attract investments,\u201d said Gavish.<\/p>\n
\t Over the past two and a half years, local startups and tech companies continued to run their businesses, despite fundraising challenges, as they sheltered from rockets and as many of their executives and employees were repeatedly called up to reserve duty following the outbreak of war with the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, which spread to multiple fronts.<\/p>\n Gavish noted that, globally, 2025 marked a recovery year for investments in health tech and life sciences companies.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael is separate from the global trend right now, when it comes to private equity investments, when it comes to IPOs, or even public companies raising money,\u201d said Gavish. \u201cHowever, we do see that with regard to merger and acquisition deals, there is interest by global companies in more mature Israeli companies, which is encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n Health tech (covering digital health, medical devices, and pharma and biomedicine) constitutes about 20% of the Israeli tech ecosystem. The sector has 1,800 active companies employing some 81,000 people. In 2025, 67 companies were established in Israel, the lowest number since 2023. In the first three months of this year, 12 new health tech startups were added, with biomed companies leading the way.<\/p>\n The biomed sector accounts for approximately 30% of the companies operating in Israel, but employs more than 50% of the 81,000 employees in the industry.<\/p>\n Sector by sector analysis showed that investments in medical devices companies sank by more than 60% in 2025, reflecting investors\u2019 caution toward funneling funds into longer and more capital-intensive development of technologies. By contrast, investments in biomed companies remained stable over the past three years and demonstrated greater resilience to geopolitical shocks.<\/p>\n \u201cFundraising data for the first three months of the year show a similar trend as in 2025, but with the recent US agreement with Iran we hope that 2026 will be a year of change,\u201d said Gavish.<\/p>\n Commenting on the report, Karin Mayer Rubinstein, CEO of the Israel Advanced Technology Industries Association, said that the industry was grappling with \u201cone of the most complex and challenging periods it has ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlongside the ongoing security reality, geopolitical uncertainty, prolonged reserve duty call-ups, and growing global competition for capital and investments, the industry is also facing significant economic challenges, including the weakening of the dollar [against the shekel], which directly affects many Israeli companies,\u201d said Rubinstein. \u201cWhile a substantial share of their revenues is received in dollars, most of their expenses, first and foremost employee salaries, are paid in shekels.\u201d<\/p>\n \t \u201cThis reality creates significant erosion in profitability and harms companies\u2019 ability to continue investing in growth, hiring employees, and developing new technologies,\u201d Rubinstein cautioned.<\/p>\n As a result, \u201cwe have witnessed a worrying trend of startups incorporating outside Israel, an issue with long-term strategic significance for the local economy and the entire industry,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n Rubinstein said the association was working with the Finance Ministry, the Israel Tax Authority, the Israel Innovation Authority, and other professional bodies in government ministries on solutions and measures to help strengthen Israel\u2019s competitiveness and encourage startups to incorporate and operate inside the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is needed now is to continue strengthening Israel\u2019s attractiveness for investments, achieve security stability, expand funding sources, and deepen international collaborations, to ensure that Israel\u2019s life sciences industry continues to be one of the central growth engines of Israeli high-tech in the coming years,\u201d said Rubinstein. \u201cWe are working to create the conditions that will make Israel once again the natural choice for entrepreneurs and startups to establish, grow, and remain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tOmer Gavish, Life Sciences Leader and Partner at PwC Israel. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/digital-health-CC-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIllustrative. Digital health technology. (chombosan; iStock by Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tWe can’t do this work alone.\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-4-200x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYes, I’ll join\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n