CEO, Sabra Ventures Ranch
Two Lone Star States: Texas and Israel Are Forging the Next Era of Innovation
There’s a reason people call Israel the Startup Nation. And increasingly, there’s a reason people are calling Texas the Startup State. Both are places where bold ideas scale fast, where frontier challenges spark frontier solutions, and where leaders—from universities to industry to government—view innovation as a strategic asset, not a side project.
Today, these two Lone Star states—Israel and Texas—are drawing a renewed arc of cooperation across technology, investment, security, and economic development. One brings relentless ingenuity; the other brings vast markets and operational muscle. Together, they are writing a new chapter in global tech transfer and commercialization.
Texas is the world’s 8th largest economy, and while, yes, much of that is energy economy driven, tech innovation is very much a part of the State’s DNA. It’s not just Saudi Arabia with cowboy hats. Just as Israel’s global innovation leadership is not only driven by survival and necessity. Increased collaborations are helping to illuminate these facts.
Jerusalem’s Deputy Mayor and Israel Foreign Ministry’s Global Innovation Special Envoy Fleur Hassan-Nahoum captured it succinctly:
“Israeli startups bring efficiency and innovation while the State of Texas offers market size, capital access and rollout ability. The partnership between Israel and Texas focuses to align resources and business ecosystems to advance technology, economic growth, security and innovation. In March 2025 the Texas Senate passed, SCR 24. The resolution led by Phil King, advocates for Texas to open a trade office in Jerusalem. The political support to strengthen economic and technological ties between Texas and Israel suggests that relations will only grow from here.”
The Governor of Texas’ Economic Development Office is currently establishing their Israel Trade Office in Jerusalem providing ease of access for Israeli tech firms and signaling the extent to which Texas is open for business.
This isn’t just diplomacy. It’s a recognition that Texas and Israel complement each other in ways that matter—to industry, to national security, to future economies.
Where the Momentum Is Building
Over the past several years, Israeli companies have expanded deeply into Austin’s chip and software corridors, Houston’s energy and medical centers, and San Antonio’s cybersecurity and defense ecosystems. At the same time, Texas universities, labs, and innovation districts have built strong research bridges with Israeli institutions in fields to include:
- Cybersecurity and AI
- Water and climate resilience technologies
- Defense, dual-use innovation, and autonomous systems
- Biotech, medical devices, and precision health
- Energy transition, storage, and grid modernization
These aren’t siloed collaborations—they’re building blocks of a broader innovation corridor. And Texas leaders traveling to Israel are noticing the structural rigor that makes the Startup Nation’s engine hum. This past month Israel’s Consul General to the Southwest U.S., Livia Link, organized a LatinTech economic trade mission of Texas-based tech entrepreneurs and VC’s. Janie Martinez Gonzalez, CPS Energy Trustee and DeepTech entrepreneur, who just returned from the week of tech and trade meetings across Israel with a message the entire Texas innovation community should hear:
“My recent tech delegation made one thing unmistakably clear: innovation doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when a region invests intentionally in its people, its talent, and its ideas. I witnessed what alignment looks like when universities, investors, companies, and institutions move with a shared purpose. When that happens, innovation becomes a true economic engine, not just an aspiration. In some regions, this structure is so strong that high-tech drives 17–20% of GDP and more than half of exports. That is the power of intentional design.
San Antonio has an opportunity to take the same step forward. If we want to compete as a region, we must shift from isolated wins to coordinated systems that strengthen our entire economy:
• Equip long-established local companies with modernization tools and digital capabilities.
• Build a rapid Workforce-as-a-Service model through our community and technical colleges.
• Create Innovation-as-a-Service platforms so small and mid-sized firms can access AI, cybersecurity, and advanced analytics.
• Attract early-stage capital that stays rooted here and fuels homegrown innovation.
• Align universities, research institutions, the military, and industry around shared economic priorities.
What I experienced was not politics, it was the power of alignment. Institutions rowing in the same direction. Leaders operating from a shared mission. That level of coordination accelerates growth and builds resilience. This is the conversation San Antonio needs, and I hope it sparks the alignment we’ve been waiting for.”
This idea—intentional alignment—is exactly what Texas and Israel are now building together.
Shared Values, Shared Challenges, Shared Opportunities
The connection between Texas and Israel isn’t just economic. It’s cultural. Both are frontier societies with deep practical instincts, a strong security mindset, and a bias for action.
As Ilan Regenbaum, one of Israel’s leading DefenseTech innovators, notes:
“Israel and Texas are uniquely suited to work with and support each other in many ways. To name a few… Both have arid environments (in addition to verdant regions) and the need for advanced water tech, they both have strong and growing defense/aerospace sectors, and both share deep values.”
Those shared values are showing up in real, scalable opportunities:
- Joint R&D and Co-Commercialization
Texas research universities and Israeli tech-transfer offices are exploring new cross-licensing pathways, joint accelerator programs, and binational commercialization pipelines.
- Venture Capital Flow in Both Directions
Texas-based VC funds are scouting Israeli early-stage companies, while Israeli investors are increasingly treating Texas as the next major U.S. launchpad.
- Shared Testbeds and Innovation Infrastructure
Autonomous systems, energy storage, grid security, water treatment, and medical devices are prime candidates for joint testing and deployment across both regions.
- Government Support and Policy Alignment
With Texas advancing commitments (as mentioned) opening a trade office in Jerusalem and Israel expanding support for U.S.-based innovation nodes, policy momentum is working in favor of deeper partnership.
- Talent Mobility and Workforce Pathways
Expect to see more graduate research exchanges, industry fellowships, and cross-border training programs.
Where This Is Going
If the Startup Nation and the Startup State continue on this trajectory, the next decade will deliver:
- More co-developed intellectual property
- More export-ready technologies launched from joint R&D
- More resilient energy, water, and security systems
- A stronger bi-national innovation corridor on the global stage
The world is shifting fast. Regions that move together—aligned in purpose, strategic in design, bold in execution—will define the next era of economic leadership. Texas and Israel are already proving what’s possible when the two Lone Star states point toward the same horizon.
During these past six weeks in Israel I got to visit with several more tech and venture thought leaders and I will mention a few here as their work will continue blaze a path towards multi-regional impact and growth:
Omri Casspi – Swish Ventures, NBA star turned tech venture entrepreneur
David Yaari – VC and International Economic Development Expert
Hillel Fuld – semi-official spokesperson for all-things Israeli tech ecosystem
Jeremy Pressman – Principal at ADvantage Sports Tech Fund – global sports innovation
Eduardo Bravo – COO Irys Technologies – an AI and DefenseTech Texas-based firm.
