Israel to lure foreign AI experts with meager budget

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The Israel Innovation Authority has presented a plan with an exceptionally low budget of $1.8 million to bring AI experts to Israel.

While the world competes intensively for talent in the field of AI, the Israel Innovation Authority is presenting a plan with an exceptionally low budget of $1.8 million to bring AI experts to Israel. This small amount is supposed to finance a pilot program that will bring 200 experts over three years - in other words, less than $10,000 to bring each expert, while annual employment costs for AI experts range from $200,000 to $500,000 in the global market.

There are currently about 2,200 companies operating in Israel that base their activities on AI. According to the authority's own estimates, only 300-400 advanced degree graduates in the field join the industry each year - a number that does not keep up with the rising demand. The new program, which will be implemented in collaboration with Nisha, Gvahim and the Jewish Agency for Israel, seems like a drop in the ocean compared with the real needs of the industry.

The gap is especially sharp when compared with the UAE, which has become an emerging AI powerhouse in the past three years. The Gulf state has invested $300 million in the Falcon Foundation to promote open-source research, built a $100 million computer, and is offering aggressive incentive packages that include income tax exemption and preferential living conditions. The result? A jump from 30,000 to 120,000 AI experts in just three years, according to "The London Times."

"The training process for an AI expert takes about a decade and requires at least a master's degree," explains Hanan Brand, VP and head of the startup division at the Innovation Authority. But while the authority talks about "critical importance" and "a shortage of talent," the budget allocated to the solution looks like too meager an effort.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 18, 2024.

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