HP Innovation Journal Issue 05: Winter 2016 | Page 28

MARKET WATCH

HP taps into Israeli tech startups

HP Tech Ventures partners with of South of Salame Tel Aviv

Launched last May , HP Tech Ventures is targeting early-stage companies with cutting edge technologies in areas that represent the future of computing and printing . The group began operations concurrently in both Palo Alto and Tel Aviv , Israel . We sat down with Irit Hillel , who heads HP Tech Ventures in Israel , to find out more about the efforts going on there .

With a record number of startups in Israel , now is the perfect time for HP to invest there . “ It ’ s with good reason that Israel has been dubbed the ‘ Startup Nation .’ While the country is smaller than the state of New Jersey , it impressively boasts the highest number of startups per capita in the world , and in the first half of 2016 alone investments in Israeli technology reached $ 2.8 billion ,” says Hillel .

Looking to tap into this growing startup sector , HP established a partnership with South of
Booming Israeli startup sector
$ 2.8 billion invested in Israeli tech in the first half of 2016
3,389 Israeli startups , 1 / 3 in Tel Aviv
# 5 on the Bloomberg Innovation Index
# 1 Startup Hub outside the US ( Tel Aviv )
1 startup for every
431 residents
Source : Compass , NC Research Center , Best Techie , Bloomberg
Salame ( SOSA ) a community of technology leaders from all walks of Israeli technology ecosystem . In the few months since HP has set-up residence in SOSA ’ s innovation space , they have succeeded in directly engaging with local entrepreneurs solving problems in a
Stephen Nigro , President 3D Printing HP , speaking to entrepreneurs at SOSA ’ s offices in Tel Aviv range of fields including 3D printing , augmented reality ( AR ), virtual reality , immersive computing , and artificial intelligence , to name a few .
Roy Oron , SOSA ’ s CEO , commented : “ Together with SOSA , HP Tech Ventures has not only been able to build a notable presence in Israel ’ s startup community , but has also created opportunities for collaboration and interaction within the innovation community itself . We are excited to have HP Tech Ventures choose SOSA as their partner for innovation , and to host HP in our ‘ Village Square ’ of the startup ecosystem .”
In July , Stephen Nigro , President 3D Printing for HP , joined the HP Tech Ventures team in Israel to speak at SOSA about HP ’ s investments in new technology and the future of 3D printing . The compelling talk brought in a crowd of over 100 entrepreneurs from all walks of the industry : investors , developers , engineers , students , and CEOs .
“ Before this trip , I thought I knew a lot about Israel . I ’ ve been to Israel about 20 times since 2001 , when we acquired HP Indigo and launched our digital printing press and graphics business ,” said Nigro after the trip . “ I know Israel has one of the world ’ s top startup scenes , but meeting the people who are part of this startup culture was eye-opening . The sheer level of activity , raw innovation , and government support is impressive . It ’ s not surprising startups in clusters like SOSA have made Israel a global name in tech innovation .”
More recently , HP gathered together entrepreneurs and investors from the field of AR for a roundtable at SOSA focused on the challenges of commercializing industrial AR technology .
These activities do more than just engage strategic startups in HP ’ s fields of interest , they help to inspire an ongoing conversation between passionate entrepreneurs , while laying the groundwork for fruitful partnerships , and exchange of ideas that could lead to tomorrow ’ s groundbreaking innovation . •
To learn more about HP Tech Ventures visit : http :// bit . ly / hptechventures �
To learn more about SOSA visit : http :// sosa . co �
28 Innovation Journal · Issue 5 · Winter 2016