Itai Margalit, Area Vice President, and Israel Sales Leader at Salesforce Israel

"The past two years have been very challenging for tech companies around the world- the pandemic, war, labour and supply chain challenges and inflation, are making it much more expensive to run a business. Parallels between the start of the pandemic and this new phase of global uncertainty are striking.

The current climate does not only pose uncertainty and challenges to business but also presents opportunities. Organizations that can maneuver through disruptive periods, by striving to excel and up their game, rather than only having a survival mindset, will most likely come out of the challenging period far stronger. These organizations, led by inspirational leaders, realize, today more than ever, that technology is an essential enabler in driving the digital transformation process.

Investing in the right technology and partners, together with adapting a company’s communication and customer engagement strategy to the evolving environment conditions will most definitely strengthen a company’s positioning going forward. It will enable companies to solve customers’ problems, ensure seamless service from anywhere, and adapt to customers’ changing priorities. This approach will maximize the probability of coming out of the disruptive period far stronger."

Shimon Eckhouse Ph.D., co-founder, and Chairman at SofWave Medical

"Considering trends in the anti-aging technology market for 2022-2023, we notice that changes in the global economy are affecting the aesthetic market less. In difficult times, people's desire to nurture and care for themselves does not decrease, sometimes it even increases because they want to feel better. Furthermore, SofWave Medical, which has developed an anti-aging product for tightening the skin with ultrasound technology, mainly targets the upper segment of the aesthetic market.

While everyone talks about the recession in the economy, it is less noticeable for those in the top two deciles of society. Spending money on things that make people feel good about themselves doesn't stop people from doing so. We see this in the United States where we are already active alongside other companies and in East Asia, where the medical aesthetics market in China alone is estimated at approximately $29 billion per year and shows one of the highest growth rates in the world.

With so much potential in this industry, SofWave hopes to expand its activities over the next year and beyond. We recently announced a partnership with a major Chinese distributor to advance sales in China, and we are also entering the Israeli market. SofWave is also significantly expanding the clinical indications that can be treated effectively by its technology including treatment of cellulite, loose skin on hands and knees, and treatment of acne scars. These aesthetic problems have a high degree of prevalence and patients are looking for safe and effective ways of treating them and represent significant growth opportunities for SofWave."

Noa Asher, CEO of NTT Innovation Laboratory Israel (NTT Israel)

The Israeli tech ecosystem suffered this past year like most of the world due to the economic slowdown. R&D centers shut down, companies sent hundreds of employees home and investments slowed significantly. For this reason, companies looking to grow in the next year need to collaborate with multinational corporations; this could help start-up companies fuel their operations during challenging times by cooperating business-wise since multinational companies are less influenced by market fluctuations.

NTT Innovation Laboratory Israel (NTT Israel), established in July of 2021, was founded to do exactly that – collaborate with start-ups, and find breakthrough innovations coming out of Israel’s ecosystem to bring additional value to NTT group companies and its customers. A challenge in itself, we understood that the key to overcoming the challenge was to identify what we call "Innovation Champions": These are our go-to people that have experience working with start-up companies and /or working with international entities. Through our Innovation Champions, we are hoping that next year we will continue to help the Israeli ecosystem thrive through international collaboration.

Sharon Seemann, Partner at YL Ventures

"If 2021 was characterized by soaring valuations and massive funding rounds, 2022 is the year in which the market corrected itself. Throughout the tech industry, and the cybersecurity sector was no exception, there have been grave challenges for entrepreneurs. The investment landscape has become hesitant and conservative, mainly in large growth rounds. Many investors have raised their thresholds, conducting more in-depth and profound due diligence, expecting to see substantial traction and revenues.

That said, cyber-attacks constantly grow in number and sophistication, and the demand for innovative security solutions to mitigate them is not abating – which is a testament to the industry’s ability to thrive even during market fluctuations. In the earlier stages of funding in cybersecurity, we actually saw an increase in the number of deals in the first half of 2022. For example, the number of seed stage cybersecurity deals has grown by over 60 percent compared to 2021 overall.

The resilience of the cybersecurity industry in light of its rapid innovation and scaling needs ensures that investors will always seek entrepreneurs with a unique vision, strong capabilities, and ground-breaking ideas in a large market. Startups with long-term aspirations should now tighten their budgets to prolong runway, double down on revenue-generating activities and strengthen their foundations for sustainable growth."