Jerusalem has established a new accelerator to broaden the capital’s footprint in Israel's defense-tech ecosystem. The program will help local companies.
The accelerator is led by the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) along with the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D aka MAFAT), the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition Ministry, and several major defense companies.
The accelerator is being launched as part of a strategic cooperation agreement signed last December between the Jerusalem Municipality and the Defense Ministry. It forms one component of a broader initiative aimed at positioning Jerusalem as a national hub for innovation across defense, hi-tech, medicine, and academia.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, head of DDR&D, said that combining DDR&D’s national R&D capabilities with Jerusalem’s academic and entrepreneurial strengths creates a “force multiplier” for Israel’s defense‑tech ecosystem.
“As Israel’s national center for defense technology, DDR&D leads the country’s technological frontier and defense innovation efforts, while continuously working to connect the operational challenges faced by the defense establishment with dual-use technologies,” Gold said, adding that developing the city’s defense-tech scene “will strengthen the security and economic resilience of both Jerusalem and the State of Israel.”
The initiative will support start-ups developing solutions for challenges that defense companies have identified. It will help the selected companies develop proof of concepts by providing access to research facilities and labs. Additionally, it will also support business development and help with strategic meetings with defense and technology companies abroad.
It requires that at least half of the participating start-ups be based in Jerusalem.
Under the program’s matching‑funds mechanism, the JDA will match partner investments up to NIS 2 million per venture. The proposal window closes on August 17, 2026.
The JDA has issued a call for proposals seeking an external operator with experience in venture capital, hi‑tech incubation, or defense‑industry investment. The selected organization will run an accelerator designed to support early‑stage companies developing solutions to operational challenges identified by participating defense firms.
Israel’s defense-tech ecosystem is characterized by close integration between military R&D, academic institutions, and private‑sector innovation. Hundreds of defense tech companies have emerged over the past few years, working alongside DDR&D and with the legacy defense companies such as Rafael, Elbit, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
With existing development centers operated by Rafael, Elbit-Rokar, Ophir Optronics, Civan Lasers and others, Tsachi Namir, CEO of the JDA, said that the accelerator “will further strengthen Jerusalem’s position as a leading national hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological development in the defense sector.”
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said the initiative will strengthen the city’s position as a center of technological development and reinforce its emerging role in Israel’s defense‑tech sector.
"I am confident that by the end of the accelerator program, the companies that grow in Jerusalem will be in demand among defense companies and customers in Israel and around the world, and that they will choose to continue growing from the city. This is a major development for Israeli industry, for national security, and for Jerusalem, which aspires to become not only Israel’s economic capital, but the economic capital of the entire Middle East,” he said.
With hundreds of new start-ups, Israel’s growing defense-tech scene is heavily concentrated in central Israel.
Israel’s defense-tech start-ups have raised nearly $3 billion in the first six months of 2026, and in June, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that the country’s defense exports for 2025 were at $19.2 billion – a record broken for the fifth consecutive year and a surge of nearly 30% compared to 2024. Over half of the deals (53%) were each valued at $100m. or over.