Israel’s high-tech industry maintained its status as one of the world’s leading industries in 2025, recording $85 billion in exports, $84 billion in exits and nearly $15 billion in capital raised throughout the year, according to a report the Israel Innovation Authority published on Sunday.
The output of the high-tech sector accounted for roughly half of Israel’s economic growth in 2025, contributing 1.44 percentage points out of GDP growth of 2.9%.
In total, Israeli high-tech output increased by 8.2%, and its capital raised increased by 30%. This maintained Israel’s ranking as the largest hub outside the United States for raising capital and the fourth-largest in the world.
The industry also registered record levels of exits and a record share of high-tech in Israeli exports, the report showed.
Output per employee in the sector remained significantly higher than the national average, reaching approximately 827,000 shekels (~$291,000) per employee annually—an increase of more than 47,000 shekels (~$16,570) compared to 2024.
Even stronger growth was recorded in the hardware sectors, where output per employee in 2025 was approximately 100,000 shekels (~$35,250) higher per employee annually than in high-tech services sectors.
However, the report also highlighted the first decline in a decade in the number of R&D employees in Israel, rising relocation requests and the continued expansion of Israeli companies’ operations, management and R&D activity abroad.
First-quarter 2026 data indicated an escalation in this trend. By March 2026, the share of senior employees based in Israel had declined by roughly 9.6%, alongside growth in the number of senior executives employed in the U.S., a trend that may indicate that management and decision-making centers are gradually shifting away from Israel, according to the report.
“The report’s findings show that Israeli high-tech continues to demonstrate exceptional strength and resilience, while also reflecting the sector’s real challenges,” stated Dror Bin, Israel Innovation Authority CEO.
“Israeli high-tech is currently at a crossroads. On the one hand, while many countries around the world slowed down, Israel continues to build breakthrough companies, attract investment and lead at the forefront of global technology,” he continued.
“On the other hand, part of the activity, workforce and capital is moving outside Israel. This may not be a trend felt overnight, but over time it could erode the relative advantage on which the Startup Nation was built. Our main challenge now is not only to continue generating innovation, but to ensure that this innovation continues creating value, jobs and growth here in Israel.”
