Negev Desert becomes Israel's global tech frontier

The Negev Desert has, in the past decade, transformed into Israel's new tech frontier and a global hub for climate tech, cyber tech, and other cutting-edge technologies. David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of modern Israel and first prime minister, predicted decades ago that the Negev region would be the key to Israel’s pioneering future.

However, this vision was far from given for the sparsely populated Negev, which covers some 60% of Israel's total territory but is home to only 10% of its population. When Avishay Braverman, the former president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, proposed establishing a tech campus in Beersheba, he was met with considerable skepticism, and the idea was rejected as unrealistic. Despite those challenges, the Negev has since emerged as a hub for collaboration among local academia, Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems, multinational corporations like Dell Technologies, and IDF bases.

The private philanthropic organization Merage Foundation Israel has played a crucial role in transforming Ben-Gurion’s Negev vision into a 21st-century reality of innovation and technology. The organization was established in 1998 by the venture philanthropist David Merage and his wife, Laura. The foundation is driven by a vision “based on the pioneering spirit, entrepreneurship, and innovation of Israel.”

Merage Foundation CEO Nicole Hod Stroh spoke to The Jerusalem Report about the crucial role of the Negev region.

“We knew from day one of the creation of this state that we needed to thrive in desert environments. And we have all this know-how that we should commercialize,” Hod Stroh said.

She emphasized that supporting innovation in the Negev is crucial to making the region an attractive place for work and residence.

“If we transform the Negev into a global hub of desert innovation, agrotourism, and tourism, it will become an attractive magnet for young people who will want to move and work in the Negev. We really see it as a national existential opportunity,” she explained.

Hod Stroh argued that the foundation is untapping and facilitating the Negev's pre-existing innovation potential. “We realized that there’s a lot of know-how in desert agriculture, water management, and renewable energy, but we weren’t very good at commercializing and monetizing that expertise.”

The DeserTech and Climate Innovation Center was established three years ago by the Israel Innovation Authority with the focus on supporting local startups to develop technologies that facilitate sustainable living in arid climates.

“We help them find resources, make connections, and – vitally – exchange knowledge with industry players,” DeserTech Director Sivan Cohen Shachari stated.

“The Negev is the metaphoric sandbox where these arid zones ideas can be tested, so we connect the projects to various sites, including agriculture,” she argued. “We help guide people with innovative ideas through all the processes.”

The northwestern Negev region has, against all odds, become an advanced agricultural region. Shachari assessed that agricultural tech advances in the Negev are relevant to farmers worldwide, especially in arid regions.

“Farmers in Morocco or Azerbaijan also want to know how to do this. That knowledge can be shared, but it has a price tag.”

Hod Stroh concluded by emphasizing that the foundation’s work is ultimately guided by a problem-solving vision.

“The foundation’s paramount question has always been ‘What problem can we solve?’ The world is hungry for solutions, and that opens more opportunities for meaningful intervention. It’s not just about funding someone but about leveraging a project to serve as a catalyst. This philosophy is behind all the projects the foundation supports,” she explained.

Global AI giant NVIDIA decided earlier this year to establish a $32 million Space City campus in the Negev together with the Israeli tech company Creation-Space. The campus will be located in Mitzpe Ramon, a small town next to the Ramon Crater in the heart of the Negev Desert, where the natural surroundings reportedly resemble conditions on Mars and the moon.