It has certainly been an interesting 2017 in the Israeli Hi-Tech
world, here is a rundown of 5 highlights, in case you missed
them.
Autonomous Cars and Drones
This year's acquisition by Intel of Israeli autonomous
vehicle technology company Mobileye for $15.3 billion was not only
the largest tech deal in Israel's history, but it also
propelled Israel into the limelight in the autonomous cars space.
Israel, home to a plethora of startups active in the field (from
GPS accuracy and sensors to cyber security), is now competing with
the big boys in Detroit and Germany as the leader in the
industry.
Doing its bit to help, the Ministry of Transport opened the new
Road 531 exclusively for companies conducting trials for
self-driving cars. Although there has been criticism that these
pilots should be tested on public roads, this decision shows the
government's interest in supporting the Israeli hi-tech sector
in the development of autonomous cars.
