This week in Israeli high-tech painted a picture of two opposing forces: major layoff waves at established companies alongside impressive fundraising rounds at younger firms, set against the backdrop of a strengthening shekel and the AI revolution's ripple effects.
Wix cuts 20%: "The shekel is too strong"
The most dramatic headlines came from Wix, the Israeli cloud-based web development platform. CEO Avishai Abrahami announced a 20% workforce reduction in a public post shared on X, along with a letter sent to all employees.
"This is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make, but I am confident it is the right one, and I will explain why," Abrahami wrote. The primary reason: the recent strengthening of the shekel against the dollar. Wix has shekel-denominated costs and dollar-denominated revenue — a structural pressure that made current operations unsustainable at scale, according to Abrahami.
The second reason: AI implementation. Abrahami explained that certain roles had become redundant as the company integrated artificial intelligence, while new positions such as "Xengineer and Creators" are being created — roles designed from the ground up around AI-native ways of working.
The shekel continued strengthening even after the Bank of Israel cut interest rates in an attempt to weaken it. The dollar weakened to around NIS 2.82 — a decline of over 1.6% in a single day.
Amdocs: Deep cuts of 3,000 jobs
The same week, it emerged that software giant Amdocs (DOX) is preparing a global layoff round of roughly 10% of its workforce — between 2,700 and 3,000 employees, including hundreds in Israel.
The move comes under the new strategy of CEO Shimie Hortig, who assumed his position about two months ago. The company is undertaking a broad restructuring designed to make Amdocs more flexible, efficient and less hierarchical, while adapting work processes to the AI era and changing customer demands.
The cuts are not new for Amdocs: in 2023 the company laid off roughly 2,700 employees, in 2024 it cut another 1,500 positions, and last year it announced plans to lay off hundreds in Israel. The company describes the current move as "part of a long-term strategy" rather than a one-time step.
Frame Security raises $50M
On the positive side, cybersecurity startup Frame Security announced the completion of a $50 million funding round led by Index Ventures, Team8 and Picture Capital, with participation from Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport and Elad Gil.
Frame is developing an AI-driven security platform designed to protect organizations against the growing wave of deepfake and AI-powered social engineering attacks. The company was founded by CEO Tal Shlomo and CTO Sharon Shmueli, both veterans of Israel's elite Unit 8200. Its platform can automatically generate realistic, hyper-personalized attack simulations for every employee in an organization.
UVeye conquers global automotive
UVeye, which developed an automated vehicle inspection system using computer vision and deep learning, continues its global expansion. Since pivoting from defense to commercial automotive during COVID-19, the company has deployed over 1,000 systems worldwide.
Founded by brothers Amir and Ohad Hever in 2014, UVeye now scans more than 3.5 million vehicles monthly — giving it the world's largest database of vehicle components. Partners include Toyota, Hyundai, Volvo, General Motors and Amazon. The company has raised roughly $380.5 million to date.
Why it matters
This week illustrates a complex picture for Israeli high-tech: on one hand, currency pressure and the AI transition are driving a wave of cuts at large companies. On the other, younger companies continue to raise and grow — especially in cybersecurity, autonomous vehicle tech and AI.
The key question for the market: is the efficiency push at Amdocs, Wix and others temporary and contained, or is this a structural shift that will continue to impact the tech employment landscape in the months ahead?
The bottom line
Israeli tech is at a crossroads. Layoffs at established companies reflect structural pressures — exchange rates, AI, reorganization — but simultaneously, a new wave of startups (Frame, UVeye, Limy and others) continues to grow and raise capital. Research from Hebrew University points to the potential for a new wave of AI-powered unicorns. The open question: how long before growth catches up with the cuts.
