Is hi-tech killing Israeli culture?
Is hi-tech killing Israeli culture?
As much as hi-tech benefits Israel, it might also be killing Israeli culture as we know it.
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Startup Nation.
By now you know this vaunted moniker which Israel has both adopted and earned, thanks to a tsunami of global innovations, technologies, and research and development (R&D) centers which the country has amassed over the past few decades.
As a result, the State of Israel boasts — per capita — the most startups, the highest expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP, the most hi-tech “unicorns,” the most engineers, and the second-most venture capital investments.123
With $25.4 billion in venture capital raised in 2021, representing 136-percent growth in equity investments from 2020, Israel surpassed the average global increase (71-percent) and that of the U.S. (78-percent). Plus, the number of mega-investment rounds climbed from 22 in 2020 to 74 in 2021, hitting $14.77 billion.4
But as much as hi-tech is benefiting Israel’s economy, brand, and a certain sector of its citizens, it might also be killing Israeli culture as we know it. This coming from someone (me) who works in hi-tech, and is writing this essay from Israel’s hi-tech capital (Tel Aviv).
Allow me to explain: