HR The Next Leap
Lightricks: “Rough times are the most honest mirror an organization has”
Noa Rosenberg Segalovitz, VP of HR and General Council at Lightricks, discusses how the late-stage startup is experiencing a reverse brain drain despite the rolling state of emergency, and how the AI revolution is influencing traditional job roles, as part of CTech’s HR: The Next Leap series.
"It turns out that rough times are the most honest mirror an organization has," says Noa Rosenberg Segalovitz, VP of HR and General Council at Lightricks. Backed by $375 million in investment, the late-stage Israeli startup is building proprietary multimodal AI models for photo and video creation. Despite the challenges Startup Nation faces as it continues to work through a rolling state of emergency, Segalovitz notes that Lightricks hasn’t experienced the “brain drain” many feared. In fact, they are experiencing a counter-trend: "We have had a number of talented individuals who had moved abroad choosing to return to Israel," she explains.
From active and looming war threats, to AI rapidly and constantly redefining what it means to be productive, running a company in Startup Nation brings with it its own category of challenges and rewards. HR: The Next Leap takes a glimpse into the heart of Startup Nation via the HR professionals shaping its culture. We survey the executives whose jobs are more demanding and more vital than ever, as they heed the future-proofing of their workforce, while simultaneously ensuring business continuity and employee wellbeing during relentlessly unprecedented times.
Meanwhile, amid the AI revolution, Lightricks stands rather well-prepared for the workplace transformation. Founded in 2013, Lightricks considers itself "fundamentally an AI-native company." For Segalovitz, this means embracing AI is "non-negotiable." "Every department and every employee integrates AI tools into their daily work," she explains. This mandate extends from the company's belief that AI enables teams "to work faster, produce better results, and fundamentally expand what they’re capable of." As a result, Segalovitz sees that "professional boundaries are dissolving in ways that create real opportunity. A designer is becoming an AI expert, building the specific tools they need to optimize their own creative process."
You can read the entire interview below.
Company Name: Lightricks
Sector: AI
Founders: Zeev Farbman, Nir Pochter, Yaron Inger, Amit Goldstein, and Itai Tsiddon
Year of Founding: 2013
Investment stage: Series D
Total investment to date: $375M
Investors: Viola Ventures, Insight Partners, Goldman Sachs and others.
Current number of employees: ~450
Website: https://www.lightricks.com/
Social Media: LinkedIn, Instagram, X
In March 2026, as the market has officially shifted into an 'employer's market,' how have your screening criteria changed, and do candidates - including senior-level ones - still hold any leverage in negotiating salaries and terms?
While the general market dynamics may favor employers, Lightricks operates in a fundamentally different talent landscape. As an AI-native company, building one of the few proprietary multimodal AI models in the world, our targeted talent pool of AI researchers, engineers, product and creative builders who are deeply passionate about frontier AI remains extremely limited and in intense global demand. We have aligned our compensation accordingly, ensuring we remain competitive at the global level, not just the local one. Compensation leverage has not disappeared; it has simply concentrated around the profiles we care most about.
This reality has also sharpened our screening criteria. We look far beyond years of experience. The attributes we pursue are those essential for the AI-native workplace: genuine intellectual curiosity, mental agility, the boldness to operate beyond the boundaries of a defined role, and, most critically, a high capacity for continuous, self-directed learning. In a world where the half-life of technical knowledge is shrinking rapidly, these are not soft skills. They are the role.
How have/are you managing operational continuity and recruitment while the economy navigates the emergency state triggered by the conflict with Iran? With the threat of escalation looming at any moment, how are you and have you been handling everything from interviews interrupted by sirens to managing teams thinned by massive, ongoing reserve duty?
For nearly three years, we have been operating through extended periods of emergency. As a company, we have become truly resilient, as this is no longer the exception; it is our operational reality. Our commitment is two-fold: sustaining the Israeli economy and its essential functions, while protecting the continuity of our global business.
Early in the conflict, we proactively mapped every employee’s personal situation — identifying those serving in reserves, those with young children, those whose homes were affected — and used that knowledge to thoughtfully redistribute workloads and recalibrate expectations. That organizational knowledge has deepened with time. We now manage these complex scenarios with practiced skill, real flexibility, and real compassion.
Our recruitment has not paused. We adapt formats and schedules as needed, maintaining a consistent, personalized, and sincere warm process, even when office meetings are not possible. Our interviewers and candidates continue to show up with remarkable professionalism and commitment.
For global candidates, we are transparent about the context. Most are well-informed and respond with genuine empathy. Practically speaking, many of our international interviews are already conducted via Zoom, so when a siren interrupts, we pause, ensure everyone is safe, and pick up exactly where we left off. The pace of our offers, in Israel and globally, has not been affected.
Beyond the role of empowering employees, which roles has AI eliminated over the past year, what percentage of your workforce was reskilled to avoid being phased out, and how has this impacted entry-level hiring?
Lightricks is fundamentally an AI-native company. We are not only building one of the few proprietary multimodal AI models in the world, putting us in direct competition with the largest global players, but we have firmly embedded an AI-first mindset across every function in the organization.
At Lightricks, it is non-negotiable: every department and every employee integrates AI tools into their daily work. This is not about adding another task to an already full plate. It stems from a core belief and actual understanding that AI enables everyone to work faster, produce better results, and fundamentally expand what they’re capable of. We provide universal access to all the latest tools and platforms, and we actively expect people to use them, learn independently, teach their peers, and bring new ideas forward.
Rather than workforce reduction, the result is more of a transformation. Professional boundaries are dissolving in ways that create real opportunity. A designer is becoming an AI expert, building the specific tools they need to optimize their own creative process. A developer is contributing to product decisions without waiting for traditional handoffs. Roles are becoming more integrated, more impactful, and frankly more interesting, offering great opportunities for growth.
We remain firmly committed to growing our talent pipeline at every level. We continue to recruit students and entry-level talent who bring the curiosity and drive we look for — because what we offer them is an environment unlike anywhere else: a front-row seat to the next generation of the tech industry. As proof of this commitment, we are launching our 2026 student recruitment program right now.
Against the backdrop of the unstable security and political climate, are you seeing an increase in relocation requests or 'quiet quitting' by top-tier talent moving abroad, and what is the most proactive step you are taking to retain them in Israel?
Given the ongoing security and political climate, the concerns about "brain drain" are understandable. However, we are not seeing any significant trend or surge in relocation requests or "quiet quitting" among our employees and/or top-tier talent. The reality on the ground is far more nuanced. When people do choose to move on, it is mainly for personal life circumstances, not specifically because of the current war or instability. In a way, we're seeing a counter-trend as well: we have had a number of talented individuals who had moved abroad choosing to return to Israel. Essentially, we are not experiencing a talent exodus. Our focus remains on fostering an environment where top talent feels secure, valued, and empowered to continue their global work right here in Israel.
In an era where stability has replaced flashy perks, how are you addressing the deep mental burnout of employees torn between the professional and security fronts, and what is the most critical benefit you offer today in place of the bonuses that have vanished?
We're going through a really rough period here, and this has lasted for more than just a couple of months. But from my perspective, it turns out that rough times are the most honest mirror an organization has. We all know by now that saying 'people-first' isn't about the perks you offer. At Lightricks, when things escalate around us, our response is centered on profound attentiveness to each individual. We understand that putting people first means there is no ‘one size fits all’, accordingly – we go above and beyond with our support offering gestures quietly tailored to exactly what each person needs. This is especially true for the families of our reservists, lonely employees in Israel, and others facing unique personal challenges. This supportive culture is driven from the top down. Our CEO explicitly delivered this message, which truly breathed life into our teams and generated a higher level of involvement and commitment to each one of the employees pushing forward to the best of their ability. Everyone is giving their maximum effort because they genuinely feel seen and supported. There is acceptance, inclusion, and legitimacy for whatever difficult choices they have to make. This is why, even through the difficulty, the day-to-day feels like 'business as usual',because people feel held, they show up, and they remain committed to the success of the company. In place of lavish, traditional 'perks,' the most critical benefits we offer today are those that directly relieve personal burdens.
