Axis Tel Aviv 2026: That's a Wrap!

By Aaron Cohen

Set against the backdrop of Tel Aviv from the 41st floor of the Arnon, Tadmor-Levy state of the art conference center in the Azrieli Square Tower, the 13th annual Axis Tel Aviv brought together an array of founders, investors, and multinational executives for a day of panels, startup pitches, and strategic conversations. 

Even amid a rising anti-Israel sentiment and global pressure to divest economically from the “startup-nation”, Israeli startups continue to compete globally when connected to the right strategic partners, investors, and market opportunities. 

Axis Tel Aviv was not only a showcase of Israeli technology. It was a meeting point between startups building the next generation of solutions and the investors looking to scale the practical innovation arising from the Israeli scene.

It is this collaborative dynamic that shaped the day. Across panels on cybersecurity, sustainability, and AI, the conversation repeatedly returned to the same question: how do promising technologies turn into tangible business outcomes? One answer was given consistently: partnership.

Cybersecurity’s New Reality: AI Has Changed the Battlefield

Moderator: Matthew Kittay, Partner @ Fox Rothschild

Panelists: Assaf Hazan, CTO @ Kaspersky | Annie Degani, Global Security & Strategic Partnerships @ Mastercard | Ophir Oren, Head of Cyber and AI Innovation @ Bayer | Lior Swissa, New Technology Scouting @ BMW

One of the clearest themes across Axis Tel Aviv was that cybersecurity is no longer a standalone industry vertical. It is becoming embedded into every layer of digital infrastructure, commerce, and AI deployment.

The cybersecurity panel reflected how broad the category has become: from transaction security and threat intelligence to AI agent authentication and response management.

Annie Degani of Mastercard emphasized that “threat intelligence is driving every product,” noting that the company already uses AI at massive scale to help secure billions of transactions globally. As machine-to-machine commerce grows, panelists repeatedly returned to a new challenge: how to secure autonomous AI agents before vulnerabilities scale faster than defenses.

Four Israeli cyber startups then presented five-minute pitches to the panelists. A recurring question from investors and corporates alike was simple: “What is the edge?” Founders were repeatedly challenged to explain not only what they built, but why it would remain defensible as AI capabilities rapidly commoditize.

One additional theme emerged around expansion into the U.S. market: distribution and strategic relationships matter as much as technology. Several speakers emphasized that availability, investor networks, and committed enterprise sponsors are often the deciding factors in whether Israeli startups successfully scale internationally.

For Axis, this is exactly where the value of corporate-startup collaboration becomes clear. Large enterprises understand the scale and complexity of the threats they face, while startups bring the speed and specialization needed to address emerging attack surfaces before they become mainstream risks. 

“Israel is leading in terms of solutions.”

Scaling in the U.S.: Building a Strategic Investor Network

Moderator: Michael Wegh, Partner @ Roth & Co.

Panelists: Gal Gitter, Partner @ Alpha Partners | Nicole Priel, Founding Partner @ Mustang Capital | Zach Fagan, Partner @ Earth & Beyond Ventures

If the first panel showed how quickly technology categories are changing, the next discussion focused on what it takes for Israeli startups to turn that innovation into global growth. 

This panel underscored that strategic partnerships are becoming one of the most important differentiators in today’s innovation market. As technologies become easier to replicate, the real advantage lies in a startup’s ability to build trusted relationships with corporates, understand enterprise needs, and turn innovation demand into long-term commercial opportunity.

Sustainability in Motion: Cleantech’s Shift Toward Practicality

Moderator: Adrien Daniels, Partner @ Arnon Tadmor-Levy

Panelists: Adi Vagman, Co-founder & Partner @ E44 Ventures | Ben Reuveni, Head of Strategic Investments @ Honda | Sarit Soccary, Investor & Former Managing Partner @ DK Innovation | Idan Blumberg, Business Development & Sales @ Murata | Stefan Lutz, CEO @ BMW Technology Office

While discussing current trends in the clean-tech market, panelists noted that cleantech has shown surprising resilience despite broader venture market pullbacks. At the same time, they acknowledged growing skepticism toward herd mentality within venture capital, especially around overfunded sectors and trend-chasing behavior.

Stefan Lutz of BMW framed the company’s approach around consumer flexibility and optionality rather than ideological positioning, emphasizing that customers increasingly want a “choice of possibility” across vehicle technologies.

Featured startups focused heavily on infrastructure and cost reduction, while the sustainability discussion overall showed that climate innovation is moving into a more practical phase, where corporates are looking for solutions that can reduce costs, improve resilience, and fit into existing industrial systems.

The Next Phase of AI: From Experimentation to Integration

Moderator: Ed Frank, CEO @ Axis Innovation

Panelists: Rinat Yogev, Partner @ GM Ventures | Natalie Mano, General Manager @ PepsiCo Labs | Patricia Lahy-Engel, Head of Intuit for Startups @ Intuit

A major theme of the AI panel was that large enterprises are becoming less interested in “shiny new” AI products and more focused on implementation, integration, and workflow adoption.

Natalie Mano summarized the shift directly:

“We are not necessarily looking for the shiny new thing.”

Instead, corporates emphasized close collaboration with startups capable of embedding AI into existing systems and operational processes.

The underlying message across panels was consistent: AI is no longer being treated as a standalone category.

Startup World Cup: Israel’s Competitive Edge

As part of the conference, Axis Innovation also hosted the Startup World Cup Israel competition in partnership with Pegasus Tech Ventures, bringing together leading Israeli startups to compete for the opportunity to represent Israel at the SWC Grand Finale in San Francisco this fall. A panel of expert judges evaluated ten startups in rapid succession through a fast-paced format consisting of four-minute pitches followed by a single follow-up question.

With only minutes to evaluate each company, the judges focused less on polished presentations and more on how founders communicated under pressure, responded to tough questions, and demonstrated clarity of vision. A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that investors were ultimately evaluating teams just as much as products or markets.

“The X-factor is always the team. You need a team that doesn’t break when things get tough.”

EVR Motors was selected as the winner and will represent Israel at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in California this fall. Verbotics and CorrActions followed in second and third place.

Conclusion

AI emerged as a dominant theme across nearly every discussion, whether in cybersecurity, enterprise deployment, or industrial applications. But the broader tone of the conference was notably pragmatic. Corporates and investors alike appeared less interested in hype and more focused on operational value and long-term scalability.

Throughout the day, one message surfaced repeatedly: technology advantages are becoming easier to replicate. Strategic partnerships, formed through demand for cutting-edge innovation, are becoming key differentiators in today’s market.

That is where Axis Tel Aviv’s role was clearest. The conference brought together the startups building high-impact technologies and the global partners who can help bring those technologies into the market. In doing so, it captured what continues to make Israel’s innovation ecosystem so compelling: technical depth, entrepreneurial resilience, and the ability to turn global challenges into scalable solutions.

Lastly, a huge thank you to our partners: Fox Rothschild, Roth&Co, and the Luxembourg Trade & Investment Office.