Google is investing $8 million to support Israeli tech firms and Palestinian businesses, the Alphabet-owned group said, citing the need for small companies to secure financing during the Israel-Hamas war.
Google said its $4 million support fund would be provided to AI startups in Israel and another $4 million would go to early-stage Palestinian startups
Google is investing $8 million to support Israeli tech firms and Palestinian businesses, the Alphabet-owned group said, citing the need for small companies to secure financing during the Israel-Hamas war.
Google said its $4 million support fund would be provided to AI startups in Israel and another $4 million would go to early-stage Palestinian startups and businesses to help them continue operating.
The grant to Israeli AI startups will be in addition to the Israel Innovation Authority’s emergency fund that arose after the war broke out on Oct. 7, aimed at companies with a “short runway” of financing of up to six months.
“In the current situation, quite a few startups in Israel are struggling to raise capital from investors and urgently need financial bridging in order to continue operating,” Google said in a statement.
Google said it had offered to help maximize the potential success of some 20 startups, in AI solutions and services, with the exact number and size of the grants determined by the requests it receives.
Separately, in partnership with local and global non-profit organizations, it will provide loans and grants to 1,000 Palestinian small businesses.
It will also provide seed grants to 50 tech startups in Palestinian areas. In total it hopes to help safeguard 4,500 jobs and create new ones for Palestinians.
Google has also donated millions of dollars to Israeli emergency efforts, as well as to humanitarian relief support provided in Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
Israeli and Lebanese envoys will meet for U.S.-mediated talks in Washington on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to calm weeks of Israeli fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to derail a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
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