Israeli defense-tech startup funding reaches USD3b, triples year-on-year
Israeli defense-tech startups working with the Defense Ministry raised nearly USD 3 billion during the first half of 2026, according to figures presented at the Haifa DefenseTech Startups and Investors Forum.
The total is three times the approximately USD 1 billion raised during all of 2025. Defense-tech and dual-use companies also accounted for nearly 30% of the USD 8.4 billion invested in Israel’s hi-tech sector during the period, highlighting the sector’s growing importance to the country’s innovation ecosystem.
Industry participants attributed the surge in investment to increased global demand for defense technologies and growing interest in AI-enabled military capabilities, autonomous systems, encrypted communications, and battlefield software. The forum also highlighted closer collaboration between startups, established defense contractors, and government bodies supporting defense innovation.
The figures reinforce Israel’s emergence as a global defense-tech hub, with approximately 800 startups currently fulfilling direct procurement orders for the Defense Ministry.
Read more in The Jerusalem Post.
