Israel's AI Leadership Plan

Israel’s AI Leadership Plan

As the field of artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly advances, countries around the world are recognizing the importance of maintaining their global leadership in this technology. Israel is no exception. In a bid to remain at the forefront of AI innovation, the country is planning to build its first supercomputer at a cost of $250 million. This ambitious project will ensure that Israel sustains its position as a leader in AI technologies.

Dror Bin, the CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, announced this plan at an AI conference in Jerusalem. He emphasized the need for action in order to prevent AI from becoming a foe rather than a friend to Israel’s tech sector. Bin pointed out that AI is a fast-evolving technology, and if the country doesn’t stay ahead of the curve, it risks losing its competitive edge.

The Israeli government is allocating $250 million to a national AI program that will involve collaboration between the government, industry, and academia. The program is set to begin in 2024 and is expected to be completed by 2027, possibly with additional funding. This investment underscores the importance Israel places on its tech sector, which currently accounts for 20% of the country’s economic output.

Israel is renowned for its thriving tech ecosystem, with over 9,000 startups operating in the country. More than 2,200 of these startups are already utilizing AI in their operations. In fact, Israel is home to the third-highest number of generative AI firms in the world, with 73 such companies. Bin’s goal is to ensure that Israel maintains its leadership position in the global AI race.

To achieve this, Bin stressed the significance of a supercomputer specifically designed for training large AI models. Currently, high-tech companies and researchers in Israel have to rely on cloud services and foreign data centers to train their models due to the lack of local infrastructure. Bin emphasized the need for a local data center with a significant number of graphic processing units (GPUs) to enable local training. The planned supercomputer will not only help bridge this gap but will also be made available to researchers and companies at a lower cost than what is available on the market.

In conclusion, Israel is taking proactive steps to ensure it remains a global leader in AI technologies. The investment in a supercomputer for training large AI models is an important milestone in this journey. With its robust tech sector and a growing number of AI startups, Israel is well-positioned to maintain its leadership position in the AI race. As Dror Bin aptly stated, “Our goal is to make sure and to secure that Israel sustains its leadership, ranking and position in the AI race in the world.”