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Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/166799a0-fdda-11e1-9901-00144feabdc0.html
Israel: An Innovation Gem, in Europe's Backyard
(Financial Times-UK) Michael Bloch, Jonathan Kolodny and Dana Maor - Israel is a first-tier innovation hub, second in the world only to Silicon Valley in its concentration of start-up companies. In 2009, Israel spent 4.3% of its GDP on civilian R&D - almost twice the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's average of 2.3%. Over the past seven years, venture-capital firms around the world have invested about $11 billion in Israeli high-tech companies. Intel opened its first R&D center in Haifa in 1974. By 1979, this development center gave birth to the 8088 microprocessor, the core processor for the first IBM personal computer, followed by the Centrino chip and dual-core processors. Israel's innovation leadership has also reached a critical mass in four new sectors: telecommunications, medical devices, water treatment, and agriculture. Michael Bloch and Jonathan Kolodny are directors in McKinsey's Tel Aviv office, where Dana Maor is a principal.