Israeli-organized conference in London promotes Israel’s tech industry to Britain, Europe

An Israeli-organized conference called “Mind the Tech” took place in London, England earlier this week, bringing together leaders in the Israeli tech sector with British and European investors.

The annual conference is now in its sixth year and is organized by Israel’s second-largest bank, Bank Leumi, along with the economic news outlet Calcalist.

Calcalist stated that the “event aims to explore the dynamic landscape of emerging technologies, addressing global challenges and highlighting the imperative for worldwide collaboration and inventive approaches to urgent issues, from political uncertainties and economic downturns to climate change, food security, and cybersecurity threats.”

Among the many Israelis present at the conference was Bank Leumi CEO Hanan Friedman, who said that despite these “challenging times,” Israel’s technological innovation will flourish.

“The unique Israeli situation, where the country has been fighting a war for almost a year, has created the proper conditions in various fields – including high tech – for the promotion of new and original initiatives,” Friedman said.

“Let’s face it: the main reason why Israelis are experts in solving problems is because we don't have a choice...The war has brought a vast wave of innovation that solve many needs—not only in the high-tech industry and not only in the creation of new technologies, but sometimes in the shape of a wider and more intelligent implementation of existing technologies.”

Andrei Brasoveanu, a partner at venture capital firm Accel, praised Israeli innovation at the conference.

“While the innovation in the basic models of AI comes mainly from the USA and Europe, the State of Israel excels especially in practical applications of artificial intelligence,” Brasoveanu said in an interview.

He also said that “beyond the domain of cyber, where the resilience is clear,” Israel has shown “significant growth in the fields of fintech and crypto.”

In his opening speech at the conference, Calcalist publisher Yoel Esteron told the audience that “the tech sector is recovering and is stronger and more inspiring than ever,” and has “demonstrated its resilience” throughout the war.

“The fundamentals of Israeli tech remain strong,” Esteron said. “We have outstanding leadership, experienced and sophisticated entrepreneurs and investors, and brilliant minds trained in academia and the IDF.”

“We understand why some investors are still hesitant, and our friends may be concerned. But we assure you that investing in Israel, especially now, is a wise decision that will yield great rewards,” he concluded.