Israel is set to launch a tender next month for the construction of its first supercomputer to ensure it remains at the forefront of global artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, according to Dror Bin, CEO of the government-supported Israel Innovation Authority.
Speaking at an AI conference, Bin emphasized that while AI is a strong ally to Israel's tech sector, it could become a threat if the nation does not act swiftly to keep up with the rapidly evolving technology.
The Israeli government has allocated a budget of $250 million for a national AI program, which involves collaboration between the government, industry, and academia.
Sixty percent of the budget will be utilized in 2024, with the program expected to be completed by 2027, potentially with additional funding.
Technology accounts for 20% of Israel's economic output, and the country is widely recognized as one of the world's leading tech hubs.
Bin stated that the goal is to ensure Israel maintains its leadership, ranking, and position in the global AI race.
He highlighted the importance of constructing a supercomputer for training large AI models.
Currently, when a company or advanced technology researcher wants to train a large model, they need to purchase cloud time because there is no local data center with sufficient GPU capacity to train those models in Israel.
The supercomputer will be available to researchers and companies at a price lower than the market cost, Bin added.
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