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from the March 2009 issue

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Do you know where your AOL instant messenger comes from? Does your computer also run on Intel Centrino technology? Do you know where major parts of your Windows operating systems were developed?

It is not a coincidence. Israel is well known worldwide for its talented hi-tech industry. Venture capitals around the globe know these facts and invest billions in Israeli startup companies. Many technology giants such as Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and many more have large R&D centers in Israel, and they continue to hire more and more talented graduates of Israeli universities, such as the Hebrew University and the Technion, which are also known for their prestigious.

Here are some facts about technology in Israel:

Motorola's commercial cell phone was developed in Israel.

Motorola has its largest development center in Israel.


Intel has four major development centers in Israel. These centers were the origin of Pentium MMX technology, Dothan/Centrino and Pentium.


Israel was Intel's first development center outside the US.


Israel has one of the highest percentages of computers and cell phones per capita in the world.


Israeli universities are known worldwide for their extraordinary professionalism in science and engineering fields.


In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 hi-tech companies).


Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.


Microsoft has one of its three "strategic development center" outside the US in Israel. It is based on several startup companies that Microsoft has acquired in Israel, which are now part of this development center. Most of Windows NT technology was developed in Israel.


SAP AG, the world's enterprise software leader, has its larger development center outside Germany in Raanana, Israel. This center, called "SAP Labs Israel", is also based on several startup companies that SAP acquired in Israel.


Checkpoint, the world's leader in Internet security and Firewalls is an Israeli company.
Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US.


Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.


Comverse developed voice mail technology in Israel.


Given Imaging, an Israeli company, developed the first ingestible pill-sized video camera, used for medical diagnostic without the need of operations.


The Israeli company M-Systems developed the USB-Flash Drives, used for portable storage all over the world. SanDisk, an American company, the world's leader in the flash storage market, recently bought the company.


IBM, Kodak, Cisco, HP, Google, Novell and many more, also have large-scale research and development centers in Israel.