“The founders of “Waze” and others like them – they are the cultural heroes of our day.” This is what Jonathan Medved said at his recent lecture at the Technion. Medved is the CEO of OurCrowd Ltd., a company that raises investment capital for technology start-ups. He was the guest speaker for the Yizhak Modai Annual Lecture on Technology and Economics delivered at the closing plenary of the 2013 Board of Governors (BOG) Meeting. “They accuse Israeli start-ups that they are quick to sell off their companies too fast, for too cheap and for low profit. This is not accurate at all, and Waze is an excellent example – a company that decided to keep its development operations here in Israel – and it represents many other companies that have done the same,” he added.

Medved said that Google will become a major player in Israel and he expects that following its acquisition of Waze, the company will continue to acquire new Israeli technologies. “Just as it is difficult to eat only one potato chip from an opened bag of chips, it is very hard to stop once you’ve bought your first Israeli company without being tempted to buy more Israeli start-ups in the future. This is why we are seeing multinational companies that after having acquired one Israeli company continue to look for more opportunities in Israel.”

Medved pointed out that the Israeli economy has grown over the past two decades at a rate that is significantly higher than OECD member countries, and that Israel is considered a safe place for investment according to the global rankings, in spite of the political situation.

“Israel is leading in job creation,” he said, “and we are in a good position in comparison with China, Brazil, and especially the United States. Every year, investment in Israel reaches about two billion dollars in the establishment of start-up companies, and most of this capital (more than 70%) is coming from abroad, from places like the Silicon Valley. This is a welcome new trend that reflects global confidence in the Israeli economy.”

Medved said that over the past decade, Israeli companies were acquired at a rate of one a week. “Start-up companies have made a tremendous contribution to the Israeli economy,” he said, “however, there are national problems that plague the economic situation in Israel. Shrinking social gaps is a highly important national mission, and Technion has a central role to play in integrating vulnerable populations such as the ultra-orthodox Jewish population, Arabs and others, into Israeli society.” In spite of this, he emphasized the importance of addressing this issue without hindering the momentum of entrepreneurship and growth. “If we examine more closely which of the OECD member countries managed to reduce social inequalities in recent years, we will discover that they are Greece, Spain and France. This is why we must be very careful.”

Above (From right to left): Technion President, Professor Peretz Lavie, Jonathan Medved, and past Technion President, Professor Yitzhak Apleloig. Photographed by: Yoav Bachar, Technion Spokesperson’s Office