The High-Tech World of Tomorrow - Trends, Opportunities & Challenges

Four alumni who "did it", each in their own field, participated:

• Kobi Marenko, Co-Founder and CEO of Arbe Robotics, Alumnus of the TAU Faculty of Humanities
• Yifat Oron, Incoming Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Head of the Firm's Tel Aviv Office, Alumna of the Coller School of Management
• Omer Keilaf, CEO and Co-Founder of Innoviz Technologies, Alumnus of the TAU Faculty of Engineering and the Coller School of Management
• Karin Mayer Rubinstein, CEO & President of Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI), Alumna of the TAU Faculties of Social Sciences and Law and the Coller School of Management

The event was moderated by Inbal Orpaz, Researcher at the Lipkin Shachak program in the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Business Strategy Consultant in the fields of innovation and startups, Speaker and Lecturer, Alumna of the TAU Faculties of the Arts, and Social Sciences and the Coller School of Management.

A few quotes from the significant things said in the panel:

Karin Mayer Rubinstein:

"COVID19 has created a paradigm shift with a significant change in organizational culture and ways of working. A dichotomous period of significant high-tech growth, accompanied by an intense struggle between companies for quality workforce, alongside layoffs; and a record-breaking year of capital raising alongside a decline in the number of transactions".

Yifat Oron:

"Employees are very essential to the success and value of companies. Almost the only ones who are needed are the employees. Funds understand that if employees do not get a large enough share - they should increase the employees’ share of options. Those who may be harmed are the Angels who invested in the beginning. Nowadays, the solution to that is in ‘Secondary form’, in which they are bought out by investors who come in later stages. But the employees are most needed here- they are the whole story".

Kobi Marenko:

"I think the Israeli High-Tech market should not be disturbed by the capital market and money. It should be disturbed by what is happening in Jaffa, by what happened in Bat Yam and by Umm al-Fahm. Israel has no government and the state has lost its ability to control what’s going on. Even if the Nasdaq drops 30% - there will be enough money for startups in Israel... In the coming years, the High-Tech industry will suffer from the political situation in Israel and the state we are in....”

“This is the best time in the history of the world to be an entrepreneur. One can really influence people’s lives, and there are many good things that can be done. In the past, High-Tech revolved around gambling and less nice things, but nowadays the industry is really changing the world, and Israeli entrepreneurs are in almost every field that is essential for the existence of the world in the next generation".

Omer Keilaf:

"If there is one area that Israel can be proud of and should continue to utilize, it is its ability to create innovation and bring about achievements. That’s the image that has built its reputation for decades, but it can be used to rectify the way the country is viewed. We won’t be able to explain why we are the poor victims, because we are big and strong. But we can be the nation that produces innovation and we must continue developing this aspect and thus correct the way Israel is perceived from the outside".

Towards the end of the event, Inbal Orpaz asked the participants if anyone had anything to add. To this, Omar Keilf replied: "Study at Tel Aviv University!". Kobi Marenko quickly agreed and said "Absolutely! Statistically - this is surely the right path to becomming an entrepreneur".

Among the viewers who viewed the live broadcast of the Webinar, were Lior Ovsiovich, Junior Partner at FIMI Opportunity Funds; Paz Gilboa, Founder & CTO at p-EcoSystems; Gadi Peretz, CEO at RGB Total Strategy; Inon Beracha, CEO at PrimeSense, and many more.