Innovation, Israeli Style
KEN Forum 2014
Building Knowledge Economy through Innovation
Ecosystem: The Role of Innovation Hubs
Ljubljana, 25 November, 2014
Nava Swersky Sofer
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Israel: The Start-Up Nation
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Israel Inside
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Highest Venture Capital Availability
Venture Capital investment per person, selected countries, 2010, US$
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
Israel
United States
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
Finland
Denmark
• 5,000 active tech companies
• 600 new companies / year
• US$ 2 Billion invested / year
France
Britain
Ireland
Netherlands
Belgium
Austria
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Source: The Economist 2012, based on National Venture Capital Association, European
Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, Israel Venture Capital Research Center, UN
Nava Swersky Sofer
300 Multinational R&D Centres
Employing 50,000 People
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Israel: An Innovation Powerhouse
Globally Open
2nd highest number of NASDAQtraded companies
>60 companies traded in EU
World Class Science
1st
in quality of scientific research
institutions
6 Nobel laureates
Entrepreneurial
1st in start-ups per capita
2nd in business entrepreneurship
Human Capital
2nd in availability of qualified scientists
& engineers
Source: IMD World Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum Competitiveness Report
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Highly Innovative
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Hardship Breeds Innovation
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Small
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Interdisciplinary
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New
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Isolated
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No strong traditions => Open
to change
Strong military => training,
innovative technology
International outlook
Brain power, education =>
innovation
Novel job creation schemes
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No natural resources, not
even water
Immigration – from 600k to
8 million in 65 years
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Smart Government Intervention
Office of the Chief Scientist supporting private sector
innovation since 1969
Strategic decision to create military R&D capabilities
Venture industry created by government => privatised
Incubators: from job creation scheme to pillar of national
innovation eco-system
Innovative industry/academia support mechanisms
Evolving policies addressing market needs, e.g.
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Early stage funding
Multinationals
Strategic initiatives, e.g. nanotechnology
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Nanotechnology in Israel
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Israel National Nanotechnology Initiative (INNI)
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Objectives
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Established 2001 by Israeli government and the National Academy of Sciences
Strong representation from both industry and academia
Promote establishment of local nanotechnology-based industry and academia-industry
collaborations
Long range programme for research & technology development and world-class
infrastructure
Unique tri-partite funding model: 1/3 government, 1/3 academia, 1/3 philanthropic
First centre established at Technion 2005, five others in 2007: Hebrew U, Tel Aviv
U, Ben Gurion U, Bar Ilan U, Weizmann Institute
Second five-year term from 2012 after highly successful first five years
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Measurable Outcomes in First Six Years
of Israel’s National Nanotechnology Initiative
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830 academia-industry collaborations
860 patent submissions, of which 270 granted patents
206 companies
6 academic centres establishes
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101 world-class scientist recruited as faculty members
220 junior scientists/post-docs
750 PhD students
850 MSc students
7,500 published scientific articles, of which
1,500 articles resulting from industry-academia collaboration
$300 million investment by government & universities
Source: INNI
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The Next Five Years –
Focal Technology Areas
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Successful Academic Commercialization
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World pioneer in tech transfer since 1959
Two of world’s top tech transfer companies
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Yeda, Weizmann Institute of Science ( est.1959)
Yissum, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (est.1964)
>$22 Billion in licensed product sales per annum
>$500 Million in tech transfer revenues annually
Hundreds of spin-off companies
Many success stories
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Copaxone®, Exelon™, Erbitux®, Azilect™, Doxil™, Rebif®, Cherry
tomatoes, peppers, NDS Ltd. encryption algorithm, MobilEye driver
assistance system…
Source: ITTN, Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics Aug 2014
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Tech Transfer in Israel, UK, US & Japan
2012 Figures
Israel
UK
USA
Japan
Invention
disclosures
528
4,300
23,741
8,949
Patent
applications
431
1,942
14,224
6,962
License
agreements
1,056
4,300
5,130
8,808
Spin-off
companies
29
191
705
54
IP-related
revenues ($M)
481
111
2,600
410
Source: Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics Aug 2014
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Comparative Indicators Israel, UK, US,
Japan – normalized by R&D Expenditure
2012 Figures
Israel
UK
USA
Japan
R&D expenditure in higher
education ($M PPP)
1,224
10,361
62,723
20,336
Invention disclosures
0.43
0.42
0.38
0.44
Patent applications
0.35
0.19
0.23
0.34
License agreements
0.86
0.42
0.08
0.43
Spin-off companies
0.02
0.018
0.01
0.003
IP-related revenues ($M)
0.39
0.01
0.04
0.02
Source: Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics Aug 2014
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Nava Swersky Sofer
The Israeli Tech Transfer Model
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Company, not office
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Business leaders on boards
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Balance academic viewpoint
Clear IP ownership…
… with generous revenue sharing (40-60%)
One-stop-shop for industry – leverage relationship
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Wholly-owned subsidiary with business focus & operational independence
Professional team with relevant industry experience
Licensing
R&D collaborations
Sponsored research
Sometimes consulting
Focused on royalties
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Nava Swersky Sofer
The Innovation Recipe
Infrastructure
Environment
Culture
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Nava Swersky Sofer
Infrastructure
 Education
 Innovative
research
 Smart funding
 Management
 Facilitiess
 IP system
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Infrastructure
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Environment
 Regulation
 Market
access
 Tax credits
 Institutional investment
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Environment
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Culture
 Breaking
old habits
 Encouraging entrepreneurship
 Learning to embrace failure. It’s part of
the package
Culture
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Nava Swersky Sofer
The Innovation Recipe
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Make best use of available assets
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Focus on areas of strength
Import best practices
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Research
Facilities
Funding
Supportive environment
Fine tune for local needs
Culture change takes time
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Nava Swersky Sofer
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Thank you for your attention
nava@swersky.com
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Nava Swersky Sofer