Israel’s Innovation Authority announced on September 16 that it selected two new technology incubators designed to create deep-tech companies rather than simply host existing startups. The two groups are Augmenta Health Incubator, focused on human-machine interfaces, and Intelligent Machine Labs – Foundry, focused on Physical AI.
The authority says the two incubators will receive a combined NIS 80 million over five years. It also says hundreds of millions of shekels in additional investment could come from the incubators and other investors as companies are formed. The NIS 80 million is a committed program allocation; the larger follow-on figure is an expectation tied to future company formation and financing, not money already invested in operating companies.
Participants named by the authority include Elbit Systems, Ichilov Hospital, Bar-Ilan University, aMoon Ventures, Tene Capital, Schestowitz and other investment groups. The Physical AI track is being coordinated with initiatives of the National AI Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The distinction between the two areas matters. Human-machine interface work can include technologies that connect biological signals, medical systems or users with machines. Physical AI concerns software and models acting through real-world machines such as robots, autonomous systems and industrial hardware. Both areas require validation beyond software benchmarks because failures can produce physical consequences.
The authority says the groups are expected to begin operating within roughly six months. That makes the next useful evidence operational rather than promotional: incorporated companies, disclosed investment rounds, research licenses, prototypes, regulatory milestones, customers and independently measured performance.
This announcement is therefore best read as an infrastructure and company-building decision. It strengthens the pipeline for Israeli deep-tech development, but it does not yet establish that the incubators have produced successful products or commercial companies.