As NVIDIA announces $500M investment, Israel’s AI community heads to GTC 2025

The first weeks of 2025 have already seen tech goliath NVIDIA strengthen its ties to Israel thanks to a new center and associated $500 million investment. 

Housed at the Mevo Carmel Science and Industry Park, the 10,000 square-meter lab will have an advanced AI data center infrastructure and be among the “largest, most powerful data center labs in Israel.”

The decision to move forward with such a major investment is the latest chapter in Israel’s tech community and its leading contributions. 

To illustrate, the country’s AI startup activity is two to four times greater than that observed in the United States or Europe, highlighting the unparalleled density of its AI sector. Meanwhile, the 2024 Stanford AI Index ranked Israel first globally in terms of AI talent concentration and fifth in relative AI skill penetration. 

As the global AI community prepares to head to San Jose, California for NVIDIA GTC 2025, Israel’s AI infrastructure and the country’s longstanding NVIDIA collaborations continue to advance.

Israel’s future as a supercomputing powerhouse 

The news of NVIDIA’s new 10,000 square-meter lab is a continuation of a longstanding collaboration between the tech giant and Israel. 

In an era where artificial intelligence is becoming the primary driver of global technology growth, Israel has joined the exclusive club of nations that own a supercomputer. 

“Israel-1,” the country’s first supercomputer, is a product of NVIDIA.

Meanwhile, Arik Kol, Head of NVIDIA Inception Startups Program at NVIDIA Israel, notes: “A key metric that sets Israel apart is its focus on applied AI solutions in areas like cybersecurity, health tech, and agriculture, which positions it as a leader in practical AI applications… with over 2,000 startups developing the next era of AI applications.”

The potential of Israel’s AI sector and commitment to accelerating the future of AI with GPU technology is demonstrated by the news last December that Run:ai was acquired by NVIDIA in a landmark deal valued at $700M USD. 

Following regulatory scrutiny and approval from the European Commission, the deal between US tech giant and Israeli infrastructure startup promises to optimize hardware infrastructure for AI operations.

Israel tech companies continue to keep NVIDIA’s interest 

NVIDIA has also been building close ties with many Israeli companies and startups.

Further, at the start of 2025 the company acquired Run’AI for $700M USD in another testament to the close relationships at play. 

Another example can be found with data acceleration company SQream, a longstanding collaborator and an early adopter of GPU technologies. 

At the upcoming GTC conference, the company will highlight its integration using NVIDIA RAPIDS that builds on its existing solutions to support enhanced GPU efficiency and streamlined workflows through a unified data platform. The new integration with RAPIDS is also set to make it even easier for developers to incorporate the benefits of GPU acceleration into ML workflows, requiring only low-code SQL and Python.

The solution is expected to be well received by the industry given its ability to address current data challenges. 

“At SQream we’re proud to be one of NVIDIA’s longest-serving collaborators, having worked together with the organization for 14 years,” said Matan Libis, VP Product at SQream and article’s featured photo. “Attending the conference is a celebration of the value our solution delivers, and a stride forward in SQream’s mission to help industry leaders unlock accurate insights from their data.”

AI innovation and Israeli talent at NVIDIA GTC 2025 

Israel has earned a reputation as an artificial intelligence powerhouse. It is ranked third on the 2024 Global AI Index for commercial indicators, which include local startup environment and venture capital activity.

Tech companies are a driving force within the AI community, helping to deliver innovative solutions and address unmet market needs. NVIDIA’s GTC conference will showcase the very latest tech breakthroughs that support the next chapter of AI-driven enterprises and novel solutions.