A national collaborative endeavor to bolster Israel’s competitive edge in the field of Artificial intelligence launched at Midreshet Ben-Gurion on Wednesday.

The endeavor, called The Institute, delivers training programs tailor made for corporate executives and aims to give them the tools that they need to navigate changes made to the business world by AI.

The institute also aims to serve as a hub for educating the next generation of professionals about AI and in doing so, drive Israel’s economy forward with new talent.

President Herzog highlights significance of AI

Israeli President Isaac Herzog opened the celebratory launch saying that what is happening at The Institute has vision for the future.

The president emphasized the importance of AI saying that, “there is not a country in the world where the leader is not asking themselves ‘where am I on AI?”

The initiative is led by venture capital group Group 11 in partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the IDF’s 8200 intelligence unit, and prominent global corporations such as Dream and Microsoft. Among participating companies is software company NVIDIA.

Israeli-American Group 11 founding partner and Israeli Shark Tank participant Dovi Frances, celebrated the launch calling it a first in the history of Israeli hi-tech. 

This report is a preview. The full article will be published Friday.