Insider Brief
- Israel is planning a national quantum computing R&D center to help domestic companies integrate, test and benchmark quantum hardware and software components, strengthening the country’s role in the global quantum ecosystem.
- Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin said the initiative is intended to provide a shared research environment rather than build a national quantum computer, allowing startups developing processors, controllers and algorithms to validate complete quantum technology stacks.
- Bin also highlighted opportunities to pair Israel’s AI expertise with regional data center infrastructure, called for proactive regulation of emerging technologies, and outlined continued government support for startups, quantum research and new energy innovation.
- Image: Photo by Stanislav Vdovin on Unsplash
Specialize, collaborate and compete may be the Israeli national deep tech mantra guiding the nation as it moves to establish a national quantum computing research and development center, according to an interview with Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin published by the Jerusalem Post and conducted by The Media Line . The center will be designed to help the country’s growing quantum technology sector integrate and test hardware and software components rather than building a single national quantum computer,
The proposal reflects Israel ‘s strategy of focusing on specialized technologies that can become part of future commercial quantum computing systems developed by global industry leaders. Bin said that while Israeli startups have become strong in several areas of quantum technology, the next challenge is bringing those individual components together in a shared environment where they can be tested and validated as complete systems.
“Until just a few years ago, it was seen as something which is too futuristic and will not happen in our generation,” Bin said. “But in the last few years, there was really an acceleration in the development of such computers.”
Rather than attempting to compete directly with technology giants building full-scale quantum computers, Israel hopes to strengthen its position by providing infrastructure that allows companies developing processors, control systems, algorithms and other technologies to work together.
Shared Testing Environment
According to the Jerusalem Post, the proposed center would serve primarily as a collaborative research facility where different quantum hardware and software components can be integrated and benchmarked before commercial deployment.
Bin said the objective is not to construct a finished Israeli quantum computer.
“Not in order to create a computer, but rather to create an R&D lab in which different components of hardware and software can be tested, can be integrated, can be benchmarked to see that everything really works together,” he said.
Quantum computers differ from conventional computers. Traditional machines process information using bits that exist as either a zero or a one. Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously through the principles of quantum mechanics. Researchers believe this could eventually allow quantum systems to solve certain classes of scientific, engineering and optimization problems far faster than today’s most powerful supercomputers.
Bin told The Media Line that Israeli companies already occupy leading positions in several quantum technology categories. He said approximately 10% of global private investment in early-stage quantum computing companies during 2025 went to Israeli firms.
The challenge now, he said, is combining those separate technologies into working systems.
“The full stack of a quantum computer based on Israeli technology,” Bin said, describing the long-term vision for integrating processors, controllers, software and algorithms developed by different companies.
Competing Through Specialization
The strategy differs from approaches pursued by several larger countries and technology companies.
The United States continues to lead much of the commercial quantum computing race through companies including IBM, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, while China, Canada, Germany, Japan, Britain and Australia have all launched significant national quantum initiatives.
Bin suggested Israel does not necessarily need to develop every layer of a quantum computing system itself.
Throughout the country’s technology history, he said, Israel has often succeeded by focusing on areas where it can make an outsized contribution despite investing less overall than larger economies.
“Not necessarily in having the full stack of a quantum computer, but for sure, Israeli companies are going to be part of the leading computers in some categories,” Bin said, citing quantum controllers as one example.
Israel’s innovation ecosystem also differs in the balance between private and public investment.
According to Bin, Israel relies more heavily on private capital than many other countries pursuing advanced technology development.
“We want to see the entrepreneurs and the investors take the lead, and the government only invest in order to help them grow their companies,” he said.
Bin told The Media Line he expects useful quantum computing applications to emerge before the end of the decade, although he did not identify specific milestones for the proposed research center.
AI Partnerships
While quantum computing remains a longer-term objective, Bin pointed to artificial intelligence as a more immediate opportunity for regional cooperation.
According to the interview, he believes Israel’s technological expertise could complement neighboring countries that possess larger amounts of land and energy needed to build AI infrastructure.
Modern AI systems require large data centers that consume significant amounts of electricity and physical space.
“AI requires, on one hand, a lot of technology, which Israel excels in,” Bin said. “But also from the other end, it needs for the data centers, lots of land and lots of energy, which Israel does not have.”
He suggested surrounding countries could host data centers while Israel contributes technology, creating a regional partnership that benefits both sides.
Looking further ahead, Bin said the eventual convergence of AI and quantum computing could produce capabilities that remain difficult to predict today.
“Once quantum computers are there, think about the combination of AI training and AI inference on quantum computers,” he told The Media Line. “Everything AI can do today, at the end of the decade, only our imagination can try to figure out what will be this combination and what outcome it will bring.”
At the same time, Bin said governments must become more proactive in regulating rapidly advancing technologies.
He compared today’s technological transformation to the Industrial Revolution, adding that modern regulators cannot wait decades before responding to emerging risks because AI and related technologies are advancing much faster.
Startups, Education and Economic Resilience
Beyond quantum computing, the interview touched on broader challenges facing Israel’s technology sector.
The Israel Innovation Authority plans to establish a special fund to help startups whose operating runway has been shortened by the appreciation of the Israeli shekel. According to Bin, many companies raise investment in U.S. dollars while paying salaries and operating expenses in shekels, reducing the amount of time their funding can support operations.
He also discussed a new 6 million shekel BlueTech energy program launched with Israel’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. The initiative seeks proposals from researchers developing technologies that could generate or store energy using marine resources, including waves, wind and biological systems.
Bin said that universities remain essential to quantum computing because many startups originate from academic research groups.
However, he argued that the most valuable skill for future workers may be the ability to continue learning as AI reshapes industries.
“The most important thing that you learn in the university is how to learn,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the knowledge that you gain, but rather the way you gain it.”
He encouraged workers in both technical and nontechnical fields to begin using AI tools, while warning users to remain skeptical of AI-generated information and continually verify results.
The interview comes as Bin prepares to step down after five years leading the Israel Innovation Authority .
His tenure included the COVID-19 pandemic, the outbreak of war and significant disruptions to Israel’s startup ecosystem.
Bin described the day after the war began as the most difficult period of his leadership, with startups losing employees to military reserve duty, fundraising rounds stalling and international investors unable to travel to Israel.
According to Bin, the authority responded by creating an emergency funding program that injected hundreds of millions of shekels into startups already in the process of raising capital. He estimated the effort helped preserve about 250 companies.
Looking back on his tenure, Bin framed the proposed quantum computing center alongside startup support programs, AI initiatives and energy investments as part of a broader effort to strengthen Israel’s long-term innovation capacity while helping technology companies navigate immediate economic and geopolitical challenges.
As he prepares to leave the authority, Bin said his successor will inherit an ecosystem positioned to participate in the next generation of advanced technologies through specialized capabilities rather than attempting to compete across every segment of the rapidly evolving quantum computing industry.