Silicon Wadi - History

History

Israeli hi-tech firms originally began to form in the 1960s. In 1961 ECI Telecom was founded, followed in 1962 by Tadiran and Elron Electronic Industries regarded by many to be the "Fairchild of Israel." The number of internationally successful firms grew slowly, with only one or two new successful firms each year until the early 1990s. Motorola was the first US corporation to set up an R&D unit in Israel, in 1964. The center initially developed wireless products including remote irrigation systems and later developed leading chips such as the 68030. Following the 1967 French arms embargo, Israel was forced to develop a domestic military industry, focusing on developing a technological edge over its neighbors. Some of these military firms started to seek and develop civilian applications of military technology. In the 1970s more commercial innovations began, many of which were based on military R&D, including: Scitex digital printing systems which were based on fast rotation drums from fast-rotation electronic warfare systems., Elscint, which developed innovative medical imaging and became a leading force in its market.

Hi-tech firms continued to struggle throughout this period with marketing and many products, such as a mini-computer developed in the 1970s by Elbit, who were unable to successfully commercialise the product.