From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
US-Israel fund to invest $7.4 million in seven new joint R&D tech projects
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel
A 3D-printing system for orthopedic tools, an early cancer detection platform, and an AI-based seed sorting technology are among the seven new joint research and development projects between the United States and Israel that will get $7.4 million in funding from the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation.
In addition to the grants from BIRD, the seven R&D projects will gain access to private-sector funding, bringing the total value of all projects to up to $20 million, BIRD says in a statement.
Apart from allocating up to $1.5 million in funding for each approved project, the foundation works with the selected companies to identify potential strategic partners.
The BIRD Foundation promotes joint ventures between US and Israeli companies in various technological fields such as digital health, quantum computing, and semiconductors, to create new products in tandem. To date, BIRD has backed over 1,200 joint projects for a total investment of over $470 million, and helped generate direct and indirect sales of more than $10 billion.
The Times of Israel Community.