Oracle CEO discusses expansion of investment in Israel with PM Netanyahu

Oracle CEO Safra Katz on Tuesday met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a possible expansion of the company’s investments in the Jewish state. 

“They discussed expanding Oracle's activity, and increasing its investments, in Israel, as well as the existing opportunities in, and the development of, artificial intelligence,” the prime minister’s office said. 

The American technology corporation provides products and services for enterprise IT environments. Oracle is the world’s third largest software company. 

Earlier on Sunday, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that another American tech giant Intel would invest around $25 billion to set up a new factory in the southern city of Kiryat Gat. It is "the largest investment ever made in Israel," according to Smotrich. 

In April, a survey conducted by the Start-Up Nation Policy Institute (SNPI) in the first quarter of 2023 showed that investment in the Israeli high-tech sector since the beginning of the year reached $1.7 billion, the lowest since 2018. Many economists link this decline with concerns over the judicial reform proposed by Netanyahu's government.