New Herzliya Innovation Hub Backed By Hyundai To Focus On Mobility, Industry 4.0

A new innovation center for startups was launched in Herzliya on Tuesday, backed by local and international companies including Korea’s Hyundai Group, the Netherlands’ VDL Group, and Israel’s Tadiran and Taavura-Livnat groups.

The new center, dubbed Quantum Hub, is designed to support the growth of innovative startups in various sectors, with Hyundai focusing on automotive and mobility, VDL on industry solutions, and Tadiran on the energy and air control fields, according to a statement.

The companies that founded the hub said in a statement that the center’s unique value is to make commercial connections for proof of concept pilots, design partnerships, beta sites, and long-term commercial partnerships.

The first program Quantum Hub will launch is Quantum SPARK, a 12-week program for selected startups, who will be matched with experienced mentors and experts, from CEO and senior directors in industrial companies to veteran entrepreneurs and industry leaders. The program’s mission is to discover and nurture cutting-edge startups in non-mainstream industries.

The program is built as a custom-fit plan for each startup and will provide access to the startup’s target market and potential partners, matching with relevant investors, spacious working space, and a $50K investment toward the proof of concept design.

“This is the first platform unifying such a large number of local and international industry players under one roof. I’m proud of the team we assembled, that was able to already create dozens of collaborations between startups and corporations in just a few months. Quantum SPARK is a first of its kind program that aims to take startups with an initial product into their target market. I think every aspiring entrepreneur would be thrilled to work closely with a leading CEO for three months, and this – beyond the funds and content, is the meaningful value we offer,” said Amir Rosentuler, co-chairman at Quantum Hub.

“We’ve been promoting innovation in our group and companies for years. Having CEOs with technological, business and operative backgrounds enables us to create efficient synergies and form collaborations at scale. We are thankful to our partners for their support and for joining us in this initiative, and to work with us in order to support the startups’ success in the local and global markets,” Shay Livnat, a co-owner of Taavura-Livnat Group, added.