As Israel continues to navigate nearly three years of war and an increasingly competitive global investment landscape, many of the country’s leading physicians, scientists, entrepreneurs and investors gathered in Jerusalem on June 29-30 with their attention fixed firmly on the next frontier of medicine.
Artificial intelligence, regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting dominated discussions during the two-day MIXiii Health-Tech.IL conference, where speakers argued that Israel’s greatest advantage lies not only in technological innovation but also in its ability to rapidly translate research into lifesaving medical advances.
The annual conference, organized by the Israel Advanced Technology Industries Association (IATI), brought together entrepreneurs, venture capital firms, multinational companies, hospitals, researchers and policymakers from Israel and abroad to explore the future of healthcare. This year’s event placed special emphasis on connecting venture capital with Israeli startups and strengthening international partnerships.
Opening the conference, chairman Yaacov Michlin, CEO of BioLight Life Sciences, emphasized that investment remains the lifeblood of innovation.
That message was echoed by Alon Stopel, chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, who described artificial intelligence as the next accelerator of medical discovery while acknowledging that investment in Israel’s technology sector has declined by approximately 40%.
Rather than slowing innovation, speakers argued that the challenge is integrating AI throughout the development process—from laboratory research to clinical care—while continuing to attract international investment.
Rebuilding through bioprinting
One of the conference’s keynote presentations came from Technion professor Shulamit Levenberg, who offered a glimpse into a future in which damaged human tissue may be rebuilt through advanced bioprinting.
Her presentation, titled “Bioprinting and Prosthetics: Turning Rehabilitation Challenges into a National Innovation Mission,” focused on engineering living tissues that could dramatically improve rehabilitation for patients requiring prosthetic limbs.
Using sophisticated 3D bioprinting technologies, researchers are working to create combinations of muscle, fat and blood-vessel tissue that more closely replicate the body’s natural structures. Such advances could eventually allow prosthetic devices to integrate more effectively with the human body, improving both mobility and quality of life.
While much of the technology remains under development, Levenberg described tissue engineering as one of the most promising directions in regenerative medicine, particularly as Israel continues caring for soldiers and civilians recovering from severe injuries.
Her presentation reflected a recurring conference theme: Challenges created by war are increasingly becoming catalysts for medical innovation.
Lessons from wartime medicine
Professor Yoram Weiss, director-general of Hadassah Medical Organization, highlighted how Israel’s healthcare system has adapted during wartime while continuing to invest in long-term medical research.
Alongside the daily demands of treating trauma patients, Hadassah has continued advancing research partnerships, including stem-cell collaborations with institutions in Berlin, while placing renewed emphasis on infection control and rehabilitation.
For many participants, the discussion illustrated how Israeli hospitals have become both emergency responders and innovation centers, developing solutions under extraordinary circumstances that may ultimately benefit patients worldwide.
Healthcare in 2035
Perhaps the conference’s most thought-provoking keynote address came from American physician and healthcare innovator Dr. Stephen Klasko, who challenged the audience to imagine medicine in 2035 through a holographic presentation that even envisioned pop star Taylor Swift as U.S. president.
Drawing comparisons to once-unimaginable changes such as the widespread adoption of seat belts, Klasko argued that healthcare is approaching a similarly dramatic transformation.
Rather than replacing physicians, he predicted that artificial intelligence will increasingly handle routine analysis and administrative tasks, allowing doctors and nurses to spend more time with patients.
He envisioned two emerging healthcare roles: clinicians enhanced by AI technology and AI agents designed to help patients achieve their personal health goals.
Artificial intelligence could prove especially transformative in mental healthcare, where patients often wait months before receiving treatment. AI-powered systems, he said, could triage patients more quickly, enabling clinicians to devote greater attention to those requiring complex care.
The greatest challenge, Klasko suggested, will not be the technology itself but preparing the workforce as the role of medical professionals evolves.
Investors remain confident
Despite ongoing regional instability, international investors attending the conference expressed confidence in Israel’s innovation ecosystem.
During a panel on European venture capital, participants agreed that Israel continues to earn international respect for both the quality of its scientific research and the resilience of its startup community.
Jonathan Sinclair, an investor from Toronto attending the conference for the second time, said he was struck by both the pace of innovation and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence.
“I’ve been amazed by the technology and the speed at which things are being built,” Sinclair told JNS. “I even sent a note to my kids saying, ‘You should come.’”
He noted how dramatically conversations had shifted in just a year.
“Last year, AI wasn’t pervasive. One year later, it’s everywhere.”
For Phillip Shum of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the visit marked his first trip to Israel.
Beyond the conference itself, he found time to explore Jerusalem, describing an evening walk through the Old City and a ride on public transportation back to his hotel among the highlights of his visit.
An industry looking ahead
The conference also featured the release of IATI’s eighth annual industry report, presented by Omer Gavish, head of pharmaceuticals and life sciences at PwC Israel who is the lead author of IATI’s annual life sciences report.
He said the findings offered a mixed assessment of Israel’s life-sciences sector. Rather than describing the year as “the good, the bad and the ugly,” Gavish characterized it as “the good, the bad and the stable.”
While biotechnology continued to show strength, segments of the medical-device industry declined. Tel Aviv nevertheless maintained its position as Israel’s leading life-sciences hub.
Karin Mayer Rubinstein, IATI’s CEO and president, acknowledged that the past year had been challenging but remained optimistic about the industry’s future.
“It has been a challenging year,” she told JNS. “The report shows some downside, but this was one of the best MIXiii conferences we’ve had.”
She pointed to the quality of international speakers and investor participation despite ongoing disruptions to international travel.
“Our focus this year was investment,” she said. “We brought some of the best venture capital firms in Israel together with speakers from abroad. Given everything that’s happened, it was a very good start, and we’re already looking forward to next year.”
Throughout the two-day conference, the halls of the International Convention Center in Jerusalem buzzed with one-on-one business meetings as startups pitched their technologies to prospective investors in both private sessions and organized forums.
Whether through AI-assisted healthcare, regenerative medicine or technologies yet to be imagined, Israel’s health-tech community believes its next generation of breakthroughs is already taking shape—even amid the uncertainties of war.
