Israeli high-tech is experiencing a sharp polarization this May: deep layoffs at established companies coincide with major acquisitions and blockbuster funding rounds, painting a picture of an ecosystem in rapid transition.
BigID Cuts 150 as AI Restructuring Accelerates
Data security unicorn BigID notified employees today that it is laying off 150 people — more than 20% of its 650-person workforce. An estimated 20 to 30 of the affected employees are at the company's Tel Aviv development center.
Founded in 2015 by Dmitri Sirota and Nimrod Vax, BigID has raised roughly $260 million from US investors including Redwood, Advent, Bessemer, and Cisco. The company, valued at $1 billion two years ago, develops an enterprise data security platform focused on regulatory compliance.
"AI is the biggest technological change of our careers, changing not only what companies build, but also how we work," the company said in a statement. "We are choosing to fully embrace the change."
The layoffs come one day after Wix announced it was cutting 1,000 jobs, and follow reductions at Meta's Tel Aviv office and Intuit in Hod Hasharon last week. The common thread: widespread adoption of AI-powered development tools that enable tech companies to achieve more with fewer engineers.
Olympus Scoops Up BioProtect for $270M
On the M&A front, Japanese medical device giant Olympus announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli med-tech company BioProtect for $270 million — above the $200 million earlier estimates.
BioProtect has developed a unique polymer balloon implant that protects healthy tissue from radiation damage during prostate cancer treatment. The balloon is inserted deflated, then inflated with a biodegradable gel that pushes sensitive organs away from the prostate, allowing precise radiation targeting.
Founded in 2004 by Dr. Adrian Paz, Prof. Avi Domb, and Dr. Shaul Shochat, BioProtect's technology had already produced an earlier exit: its subsidiary OrthoSpace was sold to Stryker for $110 million in cash in 2019.
Veeva and Akamai Continue Israeli Acquisition Spree
Life sciences cloud giant Veeva Systems (market cap $26 billion) acquired Yonalink, an Israeli startup that developed an AI platform automating data transfer from medical records to clinical research. All 20 Yonalink employees will join Veeva. The startup raised $10 million to date from investors including Switzerland's Debiopharm and eHealth Ventures.
This follows Akamai's acquisition of browser security company LayerX earlier this month for $205 million — Akamai's fourth Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity purchase in five years. LayerX, founded by Or Eshed and David Vaisbrud, provides enterprises with visibility and control over AI usage in browsers.
Decart Hits $4B Valuation with $300M Raise
Israeli AI lab Decart closed a $300 million funding round led by Radical Ventures, with Nvidia joining as a new investor, at a $4 billion valuation. Total capital raised now stands at $450 million.
Founded by Dr. Dean Leitersdorf and Moshe Shalev in 2023, Decart started by reducing LLM processing costs and has evolved into an AI lab with three revenue streams: GPU optimization services, model development APIs, and video generation models. The company plans to launch "Lucy," a real-time interactive video model, and expand into language models for simulations and robotics. Strategic partnerships with Amazon and Nvidia will accelerate infrastructure expansion.
Unframe and Tomorrow.io Close Additional Rounds
Managed AI delivery platform Unframe raised $50 million led by Highland Europe, while also announcing it surpassed $100 million in total contract value within twelve months. Weather satellite company Tomorrow.io raised another $35 million from Pitango and partners, bringing its Series F to $210 million, earmarked for deploying the DeepSky AI-native satellite constellation.
The Bottom Line
Israeli high-tech is navigating a structural shift: AI is compressing workforces and reshaping business models, yet global investor confidence in Israeli technology remains strong, as evidenced by the string of multi-hundred-million-dollar exits and funding rounds. The coming weeks will reveal whether the restructuring wave crests or deepens.
