In recent news, it has been revealed that tech companies in the State of Israel garnered record funding in the year 2021. But battering on Wall Street soon followed, specifically for those companies who were publicly trading their shares. As a result, tech valuations in the last couple of months came readily tumbling down. The good news, however, is that the city of New York is now home to no less than 26 unicorns that have been founded by Israelis. Unicorns are all such companies that are privately held and have a valuation of $1 billion or more.
As per the yearly report released by the United States-Israel Business Alliance (USIBA), all of these firms are headquartered in Manhattan, irrespective of whether they have a global or American origin. Consequently, New York City is now the city that houses the second-largest number of Israeli-founded unicorns across the globe. Tel Aviv has taken up the number one position. In the last year, the report revealed that 21 tech unicorns founded by Israelis were based in New York City. 14 of these were placed on the list, after they reached a valuation of $1 billion or of a figure higher than that. Nine companies at the time had chosen to list their shares publicly and forego their status as private companies.
One of the primary reasons why New York City is a top tech hub for entrepreneurs from the Jewish state is because it supplies unmatched strategic resources. According to the president of USIBA, Aaron Kaplowitz, the metropolis has no rival when it comes to its resources. It grants access to seemingly endless capital sources, a path that is well-traveled to entire America, as well as markets across the globe, and a highly-skilled workforce. The president also lauded the city for having cultural synergies and healthy competition.
Kaplowitz went on to talk about how the novel coronavirus had brought about disruptions in travel in the last two years and had been followed by several other global events. He said that at the time, New York City was the only place that had two airports that offered direct flights every day to Tel Aviv. As a result, executives began to appreciate the convenience being offered by the metropolis. The president noted that in the year 2018, back when the organization first released its list of Israeli tech unicorns, the number has been nothing as compared to what it is today. He expressed joy at the list of unicorns in New York City growing rapidly, as the city went from five to 26 total unicorns.
Included in the 14 new tech companies added to the list of Israeli-founded unicorns included Immunai, a biotech startup that focuses on artificial intelligence and single-cell biology to discover new therapeutics. It further hopes to accelerate the process of drug development. Other companies on the list were Augury, Fabric, and OpenWeb. Some of the companies in the list went on to list their shares at higher valuations, which have gradually decreased in cohesion with their global counterparts.