From defense autonomy to tunable chiplets: Intel-backed Ignite DeepTech unveils new cohort
Program leaders say the war is pushing founders toward technologies with military and civilian crossover value.
Ignite DeepTech has launched its Fall 2025 cohort. The three-month accelerator, supported by Intel, the Israel Innovation Authority, the Ministry of Economy, and additional strategic partners, selected ten startups from 239 applicants.
The new program continues the legacy of Intel Ignite, the accelerator Intel operated for five years across Israel, Europe, and the United States. During that period, more than 200 participating startups collectively raised billions of dollars and recorded several major acquisitions. Ignite DeepTech retains the same model of intensive, highly personalized support, spanning product-market fit, advanced fundraising preparation, founder mental health, product development, go-to-market strategy, and customer management.
The selection process drew a judging panel of more than 150 senior figures from the global tech ecosystem, about half from venture capital funds, with the rest representing leading technology corporations, program alumni, and members of the Israeli innovation community. The chosen companies have already raised an average of $7 million in Seed funding.
The selected companies span defense, cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, biotech, climate tech, and semiconductors. They include:
- Shifters - Autonomous technologies for defense and industrial missions in high-risk environments.
- Hush Security - Dynamic, permission-based access systems that eliminate static machine identity keys.
- Anchor - AI agents capable of autonomously executing browser-based operations.
- Thermagix - Technology that converts wasted industrial heat into electricity and cooling, without moving parts or emissions.
- Cellint Bio - Automated Lab-as-a-Service platform for accelerating cell-based research.
- SpecificAI - Compact, task-optimized AI models for production agents, offering improvements over general-purpose LLMs.
- MoRF - Tunable chiplets designed to reduce size, cost, and power consumption in semiconductors.
- Ascendra - Adaptive cloud infrastructure aimed at maximizing performance while reducing costs.
- Pluto Security - Pluto Security is a cybersecurity startup currently in stealth mode.
- Infros - Computing-infrastructure optimization tools for reliability, speed, and resource efficiency.
According to the organization, this year’s cohort reflects shifting national and global priorities.
Tzahi Weisfeld, Chairman of Ignite DeepTech, said the ongoing war has influenced both the composition of the cohort and the technological domains represented. “We clearly see the impact of the ongoing war reflected in the composition of this cohort and the startups’ focus areas, with participation of senior defence leaders,” he said. “Now is the time to translate Israel’s tremendous achievements on multiple fronts into deep-tech innovations for both military and civilian applications.”
The cohort also includes a record number of women founders for the program. “We are especially proud to see four female founders in this cohort… reflecting the significant progress toward gender equality in high-tech and the continued breaking of glass ceilings,” Weisfeld added.
Alon Leibovich, CEO of Ignite DeepTech, noted that the accelerator builds on the foundations of Intel Ignite and Microsoft for Startups. “These programs have produced generations of successful founders and startups, some of which have become unicorns or achieved impressive exits and are already embarking on their next ventures,” he said. The rapid rise of AI, he added, is creating new opportunities for DeepTech companies to reshape global industries.
