High-tech sector continues to drive shekel strength and economic growth

ISRAEL - In Brief 01 Jun 2026 by Sani Ziv

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If we seek to understand the sources of the substantial foreign-currency inflows into Israel and the factors underlying the exceptional appreciation of the shekel, the recently published data on high-tech services exports and capital raised by Israeli start-up companies provide an important part of the explanation.High-tech services exports continue to expandIsrael’s high-tech services exports rose by 5.8% in March 2026, following a modest 3.5% decline in February. On a year-over-year basis, high-tech services exports increased by 18.5%, bringing cumulative growth over the past five years to approximately 71%. In nominal terms, high-tech services exports have increased by roughly USD 30 billion annually over the past five years. The rapid expansion of high-tech exports helps explain the sharp appreciation of the shekel, stronger-than-expected tax revenues, and the continued resilience of economic activity despite the challenging geopolitical environment. The chart below shows Israel’s high-tech services exports, in USD millions, on a monthly basis. Export growth accelerated during 2025 and early 2026, reaching a record high of nearly USD 5.9 billion in March 2026. Israel’s high-tech services exports, USD millionsSource: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)Israeli start-ups maintain strong fundraising momentumIsraeli startups raised approximately $0.75 billion in May 2026, following total fundraising of $4.4 billion during the first four months of the year and $10.7 billion in 2025. The largest financing round in May was completed by AI company Decart, which raised $300 million. Defense-tech company Airis Labs raised $60 million, healthcare quantum technologies company NV...