Founded in 1999 in Jerusalem by Prof. Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram, Mobileye pioneered vision-based driver assistance. Intel acquired Mobileye in 2017 for $15.3B, and Mobileye later re-listed on Nasdaq (MBLY) in 2022 with Intel retaining a majority stake.
MIBA was honored to be invited to be a part of the Midwest Innovation Delegation, sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. I joined eight other economic development professionals representing seven midwest states. Over five days in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the delegation engaged directly with Israeli leaders in government and the private sector to explore concrete avenues for collaboration and investment.
After a two-year pause, the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator proudly relaunched its outbound trade missions with a robust slate of high-impact meetings. The 18-member delegation—our largest to date—was led by Ambassador John Rakolta, Jr. (ret.) and included four MIBA Board Members, uniting senior leaders from government, industry, academia, and the private sector.
October was a busy and productive month in Washington, D.C. for MIBA as we attended two key events that brought Israeli aerospace and defense companies to the US: the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and the CET Forum 2025.
Michigan Israel Business Accelerator (MIBA) was proud to present at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)’s Annual Conference this year. Casey Iaccino and I teamed up to present a featured session: Bridging Two Innovation Capitals: How Michigan is Building a Cross-Border Growth Engine. The discussion highlighted Michigan’s work with Israel as a model for building international economic development strategies that focus on a single region.
The Michigan Israel Business Accelerator (MIBA) team attended Grand Rapids Tech Week this September, and the momentum on Michigan’s west side is undeniable. LinkedIn named Greater Grand Rapids the #1 U.S. city on the rise in 2025, and Dealroom.co recognized it as the Midwest’s most entrepreneurial tech ecosystem. This positions West Michigan as a clear leader in the region’s tech transformation.