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What happened: Vultr , the world’s largest privately held cloud computing company, has announced the launch of a new data center in Tel Aviv, Israel , to meet the country’s growing demand for quality cloud infrastructure. The Florida-based company aims to democratize access to cloud infrastructure so that Israel-based startups, enterprises, and other organizations can leverage high-performance cloud resources to support their operations and improve their outcomes. Why it matters: Quite Surprisingly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, the two biggest cloud computing companies in the world, are yet to open availability zones in Tel Aviv, which gives Vultr an advantageous positioning in the country. Despite being a small country, Israel was rated the third-best country in the world for startups by StartupBlink, a startup ecosystem map and research center. According to Techaviv, Israel has more than 6,000 active startups, making it the country with the highest concentration of startups per capita. This ripe market for tech and innovation provides a lucrative opportunity for Vultr to grow its customer base. Where to see the impact:Data from the IVC-Meitar Israeli Tech Review 2021 reveals that from 2020-2021, Israel saw a 146% increase in YoY funding for young startups. The driving factors for this growth cited are a transition from developing technologies to building businesses, increased access to capital, and a new emerging category of independent growth businesses. Despite this growth, even a tech hub like Israel is not immune to unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. According to the Start-Up Nation Policy Institute (SNPI), Q1 2023 was the worst quarter for Israeli tech funding since 2018, with only $1.7B in investments, compared to $6.7B in Q1 2022. Factors for this steep drop in investment include domestic civil unrest amid the government’s 2023 judicial reform plan , the global recession, and companies and entrepreneurs moving abroad. |
