The Margalit Startup City Innovation Hub in Jerusalem and the Piedmont Agency of the Piedmont Region in Italy will partner with the goal of “building new bridges between tech, business and economic organizations”, the companies announced on Sunday.
The two sites are “natural partners,” said tech entrepreneur Erel Margalit, founder and CEO of Margalit Startup City and venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).
Piedmont, in the northwestern Italian region, is home to the seat of many household names, including Stellantis (formerly Fiat), Ferrero, Olivetti, Huawei, Vishay, Collins Aerospace, L’Oreal, Microsoft, Oracle, and more.
“Our mission has always been to build bridges, between communities, between cities, between regions – and today is a milestone on this journey,” Margalit said.
“This is a region that is a natural partner for us in Israel, where we take technologies that serve humanity and the planet into the next era. This is a major milestone for cooperation between Israel and Italy.
The partnership is with the Piedmont Agency, an arm of local government that promotes local business and attracts foreign investors to the area.
“Today’s agreement marks an important phase for our territory and our companies. Israel is a priority and a strategic country with which we have started a series of exchanges and discussions since 2018, which led to the signing of this MoU, which important business cooperation in Israel is guaranteed, “said Dario Peirone, President of the Piedmont Agency.
The first Margalit Startup City was founded in Jerusalem, followed by the Cyber Center in Beersheba, the International Cyber Center in New York, the FoodTech Center in Galilee, the Fintech Center in Tel Aviv, and the Digital Health Center in Haifa.
“Our goal is to establish a constant presence in Israel to foster cooperation at the economic level and to help discover a welcoming territory, including in terms of investment, to offer a high quality of life thanks to a fervent social and cultural environment.”
