Phoenix puts nearly $1 billion more into Israel's chip industry in 10 weeks
The insurer has sharply increased its holdings in Nova and Camtek as AI drives investment in semiconductor manufacturing.
Behind the scenes, The Phoenix has built a roughly NIS 7 billion ($2.3B) position in Israel's semiconductor sector, making a major new bet on the companies that provide the equipment used to manufacture advanced chips.
The insurance and financial services group has increased its exposure to the sector by approximately NIS 3 billion ($1B) in less than two and a half months. The new investments are concentrated in two of Israel's largest semiconductor equipment companies, Nova and Camtek.
1 View gallery
From right: The Phoenix CEO Eyal Ben Simon and CIO Haggai Schreiber
(Fabian Koldorf, Inbal Marmari)
The more recent move involved Nova, a developer and manufacturer of metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor industry. According to a report by Nova, as of September 17, The Phoenix had become a substantial shareholder after its provident funds purchased 1.89 million shares worth approximately NIS 2 billion.
In addition, Phoenix mutual funds held more than 700,000 Nova shares. Its proprietary trading arm, which manages the company's own capital, held 118,000 shares, while profit-participating policies, specifically executive insurance plans, held another 26,000 shares.
Altogether, Phoenix held 2.75 million Nova shares with a market value of approximately NIS 3.3 billion. Nearly NIS 2.1 billion of that amount was held through provident and pension funds.
The holding makes Phoenix the second-largest institutional shareholder in Nova, behind Harel, with an 8.6% stake. Nova's shares have risen 7.5% over the past 12 months, and the company currently has a market capitalization of approximately NIS 34.3 billion.
Haggai Schreiber, Phoenix's chief investment officer, is driving the investment strategy.
The move follows a significant increase in Phoenix's exposure to Camtek. As of August, Phoenix's provident funds held approximately 1.47 million Camtek shares worth NIS 653 million. Additional holdings elsewhere in the group brought the total value of Phoenix's position to approximately NIS 1 billion.
Camtek develops and manufactures automated inspection and metrology systems for the semiconductor industry. Its equipment is used for defect detection and quality control during chip manufacturing and advanced packaging.
Camtek's shares have risen approximately 26% over the past 12 months, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately NIS 19.8 billion.
Combined, Phoenix's increased positions in Nova and Camtek represent nearly NIS 3 billion in additional exposure to the two companies. The group also has an existing NIS 3.7 billion position in Tower Semiconductor.
Phoenix's earlier holdings in Nova and Camtek, which are not publicly disclosed through stock exchange filings, were excluded from its single-asset report.
The investment strategy therefore appears to be concentrated rather than a broad bet on every part of the semiconductor supply chain. Phoenix has increased its exposure specifically to companies that provide the equipment and technology needed by chip manufacturers, a part of the industry benefiting from the global expansion of artificial intelligence.
The timing of the investments comes as the AI boom increasingly extends beyond Nvidia and the major cloud companies to the factories and equipment needed to produce increasingly sophisticated chips.
Nova and Camtek operate in this part of the semiconductor market. Their businesses are linked to spending by chip manufacturers on production capacity, inspection, metrology and advanced packaging.
Phoenix is Israel's largest insurance company, with a market capitalization of more than NIS 47 billion. Its investment comes as the global semiconductor industry is expected to continue expanding.
Bank of America recently estimated that the global semiconductor market could grow from $1.7 trillion in 2026 to $3.2 trillion by 2030, driven by investment in data centers, memory and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
At the same time, semiconductor stocks have already recorded sharp gains, meaning that current valuations reflect a significant amount of the expected growth.
The size and speed of Phoenix's investment also mark a shift from the investment pattern that has characterized much of its activity in recent years.
In July 2025, Phoenix acquired a 10% stake in the Dorad power plant for NIS 280 million. It also held a 39.5% stake in the Reindeer power plant project, which it sold this year to Nofar in a deal valuing the project at NIS 1.8 billion. Phoenix's share of the transaction was valued at approximately NIS 700 million.
In early 2026, Phoenix signed a memorandum of understanding to invest NIS 600 million to NIS 700 million in Meshek Energy's portfolio of solar projects. That followed another agreement to acquire a 49% stake in five EDF Israel projects, in an investment that could reach NIS 1 billion.
Phoenix also participated in the financing of Meshek Energy's acquisition of the Eshkol power plant, investing NIS 350 million in preferred shares.
The risk profile of the semiconductor investments is different from that of power infrastructure. Power plants can generate relatively predictable, long-term cash flows, while companies such as Nova and Camtek are more exposed to semiconductor investment cycles, market valuations and expectations for future growth.
