Ignite by Coller page

31/05/2026

10 years of the Coller Startup Competition. And the real work happens before anyone gets to the main stage. 🔥

Last week, Ignite by Coller hosted Ignite NOW 2026 — two evenings of workshops built for the 30 semifinalist teams of the Coller Startup Competition, competing across Deep Tech, Climate Tech, and Animal-Free Tech.

Two days. Six speakers. One room full of teams putting in the hours nobody sees.

Day 1 — at Herzog Fox & Neeman offices:
➢ Mor Limanovich, Partner, Hi-Tech at Herzog Fox & Neeman — on fundraising, cap tables, and the legal foundations every founder needs from day one
➢ Nir Zavaro — on storytelling techniques that actually land with an audience
➢ Orli Gal, Partner, Hi-Tech at Herzog Fox & Neeman — on the IP essentials founders can't afford to overlook

Day 2 — at the Lorry Lokey building, Tel Aviv University:
➢ Tomer Cohen, Team Lead at Discount Tech — on fundraising and working with investors
➢ Ana Lipnik Levy — on personal branding to build a superstar business
➢ Erez Gavish — on the Professional, Perfect Pitch Presentation

Thank you to our supporters Herzog Fox & Neeman, Discount Tech, and Carol and Alan Silberstein, and to our mentors Orli Arbel, Doron Simhi, and Eyal Benjamin for making evenings like these possible. Big shoutout to Lea Cohen and the Coller Startup Competition team for the partnership, and to Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University for the support.

And the biggest thank you to the Ignite team — Vanessa Roy, Juliette Bergwerk, Ibraheem Ganayim, Adam Nusinovich, Adriel Friedler, Gil Shua, Mor Bar, Odaya Buta-Scott, Lareen Hino, Mikhail Khoroshkin, Dr. Janina Lehmann, Liron Matalon, Solomon Margolin, and Shaked Sade — for making these two days happen.

Semifinals next. 👀

31/05/2026

This is a name you show up for. 🧬

On June 8, Prof. Dan Peer joins the "From Lab to Business" panel at Ignite by Coller.

Dan is VP R&D at Tel Aviv University and one of the most influential figures in Israeli life sciences — a pioneer in RNA therapeutics and drug delivery whose research helped shape the field. His whole career sits exactly on the seam this event is about: where deep science meets the hard work of actually building something with it.

What he brings to the panel:
➢ A front-row view of how breakthrough research actually leaves the lab
➢ What it takes to turn science into a venture people will back
➢ How academia and industry can work together instead of past each other
➢ The honest version of how long and nonlinear the road really is

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University — research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: June 8, 2026 // 18:00–20:45
📍 Where: Tel Aviv University, Faculty of Life Sciences, Britannia Building, Room 05
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free — registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-tickets-1989841896678
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling → opening remarks → TED-style talk → panel → Q&A → closing & mingling

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

28/05/2026

Meet the voice opening our biotech night. 🎤

On June 8, Ilanit Kabessa kicks off "From Lab to Business" with a TED-style talk — then moderates the panel that follows.

Ilanit is Managing Partner at URIKA Partners, and she sits right where this whole conversation lives: between the science, the money, and the hard calls that turn research into an actual company. She's spent her career figuring out what makes a venture worth backing — so she's the perfect person to open this one.

What she'll set up:

➢ Why great science doesn't automatically become a great company
➢ What investors are actually looking for in biotech
➢ How the best founders think about risk, timing, and the long road to market

This one's a collaboration with The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University — research world meets founder world, same room.

📅 When: June 8, 2026 // 18:00–20:45
📍 Where: Tel Aviv University, Faculty of Life Sciences, Britannia Building, Room 05
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free — registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-tickets-1989841896678
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling → opening remarks → TED-style talk → panel → Q&A → closing & mingling

Tag someone who'd want to hear this. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

25/05/2026

The science is the easy part. Building a company around it? That's where it gets real. 🧬

On June 8, Ignite by Coller is bringing four people who've actually done it into one room — for an honest conversation about what biotech entrepreneurship really takes. The long R&D cycles, the regulation, the fundraising, the science that fights back. All of it.

The night kicks off with a TED-style talk from Ilanit Kabessa, then rolls into a panel she'll moderate.

On stage:
➢ Ilanit Kabessa — Managing Partner, URIKA Partners
➢ Prof. Dan Peer — VP R&D at Tel Aviv University
➢ Maya Ashkenazi Otmazgin — Founder & CEO, MAOLAC
➢ Dr. Assaf Horowitz — CEO & Co-Founder, BrainVivo

What we'll get into:
➢ How an idea actually leaves the lab and becomes a company
➢ What makes a biotech venture worth backing
➢ How founders juggle scientific and financial risk at once
➢ What it really takes to build something that lasts

Come for the substance, stay for the mingling. There's arrival time, refreshments, and a closing networking block built right into the night — so come meet the people building in biotech, health-tech, and food-tech.

Student, researcher, aspiring founder, or just curious? This one's worth your evening.

📅 When: June 8, 2026 // 18:00–20:45
📍 Where: Tel Aviv University, Faculty of Life Sciences, Britannia Building, Room 05
🗣️ Language: English
🎟️ Cost: Free — registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-lab-to-business-the-realities-of-biotech-entrepreneurship-tickets-1989841896678
📋 Agenda: Arrival & mingling → opening remarks → TED-style talk → panel → Q&A → closing & mingling

Tag a friend who's been trying to take their research out of the lab. 👇

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Carol and Alan Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University, and The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

12/05/2026

What a night. ✨

Last night, Ignite by Coller hosted Riki Levisman — Head of Innovation & GenAI at FUTURE (HIT's innovation center) — for our AI Entrepreneur Masterclass: Navigating the Agentic Shift.

Two hours. A packed Lorry Lokey hall. A room full of founders who walked in curious and left thinking very differently about what it means to build a company in 2026. 🧠

This was our first deep-dive of its kind and it landed hard. AI is moving fast, and the people in our community deserve sessions that meet them where the conversation actually is right now. Last night did exactly that.

A few takeaways that stuck:

➢ AI has stopped being a feature — it's the infrastructure. Not something you bolt on, but the operating layer of how modern companies get built, branded, and run.

➢ Founder-led is the real edge. When anyone can spin up a product overnight, the founder's curiosity, taste, and voice become the moat. New founder-market fit = curiosity + spotting the real problem + the discipline to bring the numbers.

➢ Three agents, one context. The future of ex*****on isn't a single chat window. It's orchestrated agents sharing context and working alongside you. What used to take a team can now be run by one founder with the right stack — Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and the chat layer doing the heavy lifting.

➢ Build in public, and let your DESIGN.md do the talking. Authenticity, credibility, vulnerability, and openness are the new branding playbook. To fight AI slop, Riki shared a framework that teaches AI to stay on-brand: https://brandingmd.netlify.app

A massive thank you to Riki — for the generosity, the clarity, and the firehose of tools and frameworks you handed our community. People are still messaging about it.

Thank you to Solomon for opening the night with such a sharp intro. 🎤

To the Ignite team — you turned a Monday night into a real community moment. More coming soon. 👀

If you're not in our WhatsApp community yet, now's the time.

Proudly supported by our partners: Discount Tech, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Alan Silberstein, Carol Silberstein, Tel Aviv University - Coller School of Management, Sofaer Global MBA at Tel Aviv University, and Coller Institute of Venture at Tel Aviv University.

11/05/2026

Tonight. 18:00. Coller School of Management. Agentic AI. Riki Levisman. 🤖

Last call to RSVP — and if you've already RSVP'd, this is your reminder to actually show up. 😉

💻 Bring your laptop.

Networking after. The usual Ignite energy. Come say hi.

🔗 RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-entrepreneur-masterclass-navigating-the-agentic-shift-tickets-1987767484054

Join us for this dynamic 2-hour session on building AI-native ventures and professional presence.

10/05/2026

Tomorrow night. Coller School of Management. Agentic AI — the actually useful version. 🤖

Riki Levisman, Head of Innovation & GenAI at FUTURE (HIT's innovation center), is joining us to walk through what founders should be doing with agents right now. Not "what is AI." More like "what do I do with this on Monday morning."

➢ Real, current takes from someone who sees what's shipping
➢ Live Q&A — come with the messy questions
➢ Networking after with founders, MBAs, and people building in the space
➢ Free

💻 Bring your laptop.

🔗 RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-entrepreneur-masterclass-navigating-the-agentic-shift-tickets-1987767484054

Tag a co-founder, a friend, or that person who keeps saying they "really need to learn more about AI." 👇

Join us for this dynamic 2-hour session on building AI-native ventures and professional presence.

05/05/2026

From concertmaster of the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra to a $150–200M AI exit. The career arc is unreal. 🎻

Massive congrats to Alon Yariv — who joined us on the Ignite stage earlier this year alongside Tal Kollender — for landing on the Globes 40 Under 40 list.

The short version of his story:

➢ Founded Atero, which built tech to optimize GPUs for AI workloads
➢ Sold to Crusoe (one of the infrastructure players behind OpenAI's Stargate) after just one year
➢ Now runs Crusoe Israel and is SVP of Business Development for Crusoe globally
➢ Just helped bring a multi-billion dollar server farm deal home to Israel

What we love about the piece: he didn't take the bigger acquirers. He picked the one that would actually build the AI infrastructure here. His words — "we'll make the Negev bloom."

This is exactly the kind of founder we want in the room with our community. Big swings, real conviction, and a story you can't make up.

Full article: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001541298

Mazal tov, Alon. 🙌

04/05/2026

Quick reminder — May 11, 18:00, Coller School

Riki Levisman is coming to break down agentic AI for a room of founders, MBAs, and people who actually build things. Not a "what is AI" talk. A "what do I do with this on Monday morning" talk. 🤖

Why it's worth your Sunday evening:
➢ Riki runs Innovation & GenAI at FUTURE (HIT's innovation center) — she sees what's actually shipping
➢ It's a Hebrew talk, in the room, with live Q&A
➢ Networking after — pizza energy, founder energy, "who are you building with" energy
➢ It's free

The agentic AI conversation is moving fast. This is a chance to skip past the takes and get into the substance.
🔗 RSVP: https://lnkd.in/dcyQmdHg

Bring a friend who's been saying "I should learn more about AI" since January. 😉

03/05/2026

The Coller Startup Competition deadline is May 6. After that, the tab closes itself for you.

If you've been on the fence:
➢ $400K total in SAFE investment across the winning teams
➢ Past winners raised hundreds of millions in follow-on funding
➢ Three tracks — Deep Tech, Climate Tech, Animal-Free Tech
➢ Animal-Free is open to anyone, anywhere — not just TAU
➢ Mentors, judges, and a network that doesn't disappear after demo day

The people who get funded aren't the ones with the perfect deck. They're the ones who submitted.
🔗 https://www.collercompetition.com

Tag the co-founder you keep saying you'll "finish the deck with this weekend." 👇

This is the Coller Startup Competition. Read all about it.