Samsung, Apple Announce Israel Investments

Samsung Electronics has opened a $100 million fund dedicated to innovative applications of product systems and components of its various digital gadgets. Part of the fund will be directed to projects in Israel.

“We’re going to support early stage entrepreneurs and academia. We want to make sure we’re part of the disruptive forces sweeping the technology industry,” said Samsung Electronics chief strategy officer Young Sohn, according to Globes.

This renewed innovation can impact Samsung products ranging from televisions and mobile phones to computers and more. Some of the money will also be invested in projects in California’s Silicon Valley as well as Cambridge, Mass., and will address cloud infrastructure, human interface and mobile health.

Meanwhile, Samsung rival Apple will open its third research and development center in Israel.

The tech giant’s new center will open later this year in Raanana’s industrial zone, Globes reported, but no official date has been set.

Apple will bring aboard some 150 employees from Texas Instruments, whose Israel branch suffered major layoffs several weeks ago.

The website Next Web had reported that Intel was offering “healthy compensation packages” to lure engineers and nearly spoiled Apple’s plan to open the Raanana site.

Apple opened an R&D center last year in Haifa and also acquired the Herzliya-based flash memory developer Anobit.

In December, Google opened a 16,000-square-foot floor of the Electra Tower in Tel Aviv. The space includes an area for meetings and workshop space for startup companies.

Using the campus and participating in its activities are free for entrepreneurs and startups.

The campus will also give start-ups access to Google work teams and industry experts. Google will also offer at the center Launchpad, a two-week seminar for startups in their early stages. Some 100 Israeli startups will benefit from Launchpad each year.