Tel Aviv might be of modest size but Israel’s high-tech capital is one of the leading cities in the world for innovation and technology. The beating heart of the “Startup Nation” boasts one startup for every 154 residents, the world’s highest ratio. Creative and experienced talent, a mix of local and international investors and 2,750 startups call this ecosystem home. The “Startup City” hosts 115 foreign R&D centers with a vast range of multinational companies using the city as a base for innovation. The well known tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and Apple, together with Nike, Mastercard, Ford, booking.com, bosch, come for the talent and entrepreneurial spirit and benefits from the country’s high expenditure on R&D - the second-highest rate of R&D spend per capita in the world. A recent surge in VC money into Tel Aviv has only improved the conditions for growing companies. The ecosystem saw a 25% increase in capital raised in 2020, with over $6.8 billion flowing into its startups last year which doubled the number of unicorns in Tel Aviv. It is now home to more than 20 private companies worth more than $1 billion. With rounds of $200 or $300 million not uncommon, local success stories are numerous and include Monday.com, which raised $150 million from Zoom and Salesforce in June 2021 as part of its IPO, and mobility-as-a-service startup Moovit, which was acquired by Intel for $900 million in May 2020. Notable ecosystem events include Axis Tel Aviv, DLD, Fintech Week, and CybertechGlobal which provide local entrepreneurs the opportunity to network with leading members of the international startup scene.