Leonardo goes for Israeli tech. On Friday, the Italian aerospace and defence titan announced a new partnership with two key Israeli institutions “to strengthen relations with Israel’s innovation ecosystem, which fuels 15% of its GDP and accounts for more than 50% of Israeli exports,” according to an official statement.
- The operation was supported and coordinated by the Embassy of Italy in Israel, with the contribution of the Embassy of Israel in Italy and the Economic Mission of Israel in Milan.
- Through Leonardo, Rome seeks to leverage the experience and track record of the “Startup Nation.” The agreements will be immediately implemented with the activation of a collaboration in startup scouting for the second international call of Leonardo’s Business Innovation Factory (BIF) accelerator.
Through institutions… Leonardo’s first deal is with the Israeli Innovation Authority, an independent public agency providing technical and financial support for innovative projects – promoted by Israeli and international startups, mature companies, multinationals and universities.
… and academia. The second agreement was signed with Ramot, the Technology Transfer Office of Tel Aviv University, which seeks to valorise the intellectual property produced by its over 16,000 researchers.
- The dynamic Israeli startup ecosystem generates high-tech solutions in sectors of strategic interest to Leonardo’s business, such as defence, aero, space, cybersecurity and intelligence.
- Through the deal, the Israeli university will implement research projects sponsored by the Italian company, which will define the areas of research and interest.
The bigger picture. The agreements signed with the IIA and Ramot are part of Leonardo’s strategy aimed at strengthening relations with institutions, universities and private entities to create structural partnerships, with the objective of nurturing technological and business innovation processes, reads the company’s statement.
