Israel's Tower Semiconductor to increase Asian investments after US tech giant Intel calls off deal

Tower Semiconductor, a large chipmaker from the northern Israeli town of Migdal Haemek, is reportedly planning to increase its investments in India.

In 2022, the American tech giant Intel announced it would acquire the Israeli company amid a growing global chip shortage. At the time, Tower CEO Russell Ellwanger praised the upcoming American-Israeli corporate merger.

“With a rich history, Tower has built an incredible range of specialty analog foundry solutions based upon deep customer partnerships, with worldwide manufacturing capabilities. I could not be prouder of the company and of our talented and dedicated employees,” Ellwanger said.

However, the $5.4 billion merger deal was recently canceled. Amid the growing competition between the United States and China within the semiconductor industry, the Jewish state may be gravitating toward the continent of Asia.

While China is the world’s second-largest economy, its Asian rival India has ambitions to become the world’s third-largest economy in the coming decade.

Despite its tiny size, the start-up nation Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading technology centers outside Silicon Valley. The Jewish state’s nickname refers to the large number of start-up companies in Israel. This is largely due to a combination of local tech talent and an accumulation of global venture capital.

In recent months Israeli and critics worldwide have voiced concerns that the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform plan could undermine the Israeli tech industry and cause investors to withdraw funds from the Israeli economy.

However, Israeli tech expert Hillel Fuld remains optimistic about the future of the Israeli tech industry.

“There is money in this ecosystem. It's not drying up, as many people would have you believe. Are there challenges? Yes, 100% there are. There are going to be hiccups along the way such as the ones we are experiencing right now. But in the long term, the venture ecosystem and tech ecosystem will be fine. More than fine," Fuld said.