TEL AVIV, Israel – During its meeting on June 18, 2019, held in Washington D.C., the Board of Governors of the Israel-U.S., Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation approved $8.2 million in funding for nine new projects between U.S. and Israeli companies. In addition to the grants from BIRD, the projects will access private sector funding, boosting the total value of all projects to approximately $20 million.
The BIRD Foundation promotes collaborations between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological fields for the purpose of joint product development. In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.
Projects submitted to the BIRD Foundation are reviewed by evaluators appointed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Israel Innovation Authority.
The nine projects approved by the Board of Governors are in addition to the 982 projects which the BIRD Foundation has approved for funding during its 42-year history. To date, BIRD’s total investment in joint projects is nearly $350 million, helping to generate direct and indirect sales of more than $10 billion.
The projects approved include:
Dr. Phillip Singerman, Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and co-Chairman of BIRD’s Board of Governors said: “The U.S.-Israel BIRD Foundation continues to invest in projects that represent not only a range of innovative technologies but also is inclusive of companies of all sizes, from both the U.S. and Israel, which are developing solutions with potential impact to the global economy. We will continue to enhance the Foundation’s ability to support joint U.S.-Israel innovation.”
Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and co-Chairman of BIRD’s Board of Governors said: “The U.S. is one of Israel’s major partner for innovation. We are proud of our long-standing collaboration with the BIRD Foundation that has resulted in such spectacular successes over the decades and numerous groundbreaking technological innovations offered by both Israeli and U.S recipients of the grant. We are confident that this year’s grant recipients in the various fields and the new projects approved will prove vital for the population worldwide.”
Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, said: “The diversity of companies and technologies that is reflected in the selected projects is inspiring and a demonstration of the breadth and depth of U.S.-Israel collaboration in innovation.”
The deadline for submission of Executive Summaries for the next BIRD cycle is September 5, 2019. Approval of projects will take place in December 2019.
About the BIRD Foundation
The BIRD (Binational Industrial Research and Development) Foundation works to encourage and facilitate cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies in a wide range of technology sectors and offers funding to selected projects.
The BIRD Foundation supports projects without receiving any equity or intellectual property rights in the participating companies or in the projects, themselves. BIRD funding is repaid as royalties from sales of products that were commercialized as a result of BIRD support. The Foundation provides funding of up to 50% of a project’s budget, beginning with R&D and ending with the initial stages of sales and marketing. The Foundation shares the risk and does not require repayment if the project fails to reach the sales stage.
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