For years, Israel’s high-tech industry has been concentrated in the center. Anyone looking to build a company, stay close to capital, talent, and customers knew exactly where to go. But the deep tech revolution is changing the rules of the game. Quantum, defense tech, energy, and advanced hardware are not born in a café in Tel Aviv. They are born in laboratories, through deep research, and in IP that is difficult to replicate. And the places where this has been happening for years are in the north.
The Technion and the Weizmann Institute consistently produce scientific breakthroughs. This is not another startup searching for product-market fit. This is foundational knowledge from which entire industries are built. Around them, there is already critical infrastructure of wet labs and research facilities that cannot be quickly replicated in the center. But it’s not only about where ideas are born, it’s also about where they can grow. Deep tech companies need space. They build hardware, operate heavy equipment, and establish facilities. This is not a laptop office. The implication is clear, they cannot afford Tel Aviv real estate prices.
And when you combine this with the fact that these companies burn cash for years before generating revenue, every shekel matters. Lower costs of real estate, operations, and workforce are not a nice advantage, they are a condition for survival.
In this sense, the periphery is not only cheaper, it is more efficient. It allows companies to extend their runway, take deeper technological risks, and avoid pressure for business shortcuts that ultimately harm innovation itself.
The human capital is also different. Unlike the world of cyber and Unit 8200, where proximity to the center is almost a prerequisite, here we are talking about physicists, electrical and mechanical engineers, and algorithm specialists. Many of them already live in the periphery or prefer quality of life and a more pastoral environment over another hour in traffic. They are not drawn to Tel Aviv, they are drawn to the challenge. And when this talent is located near research hubs and industry, a cumulative advantage is created that is very difficult to compete with from the outside.
And when global players recognize this, the trend accelerates. Intel is already there. And according to reports, NVIDIA is planning a significant development campus in the Kiryat Tivon area. These are not just direct investments, but anchors that attract an entire ecosystem of startups, suppliers, and collaborations around them.
This is precisely the point at which a window of opportunity emerges. The north already holds the most important assets for deep tech, research, infrastructure, space, and suitable human capital. If it knows how to connect them properly with investment, policy, and financial support, it can transform from a peripheral region into a center of power.
The revolution is already here. The question is who will be the first to recognize it and lead it.
Gali Meamen-sheffer is the VP Banking for startups at Poalim Tech.