Erez Askal, head of the National AI Directorate in the Prime Minister's Office, called on Israel to build 'technological sovereignty' in AI so it does not depend on foreign technology. In a speech at Tel Aviv University's AI Week on Monday, Askal presented an ambitious list of targets: about 2 gigawatts of power infrastructure for data centers, AI and chip manufacturing, hundreds of thousands of graphics processors, a sovereign Israeli foundation model and an Israeli quantum computer.
Reports differ on the number of processors. Some outlets reported a target of 100,000 processors, the figure already in a government decision from June. According to Calcalist, Askal described a broader plan of about 300,000 processors: about 100,000 for national use and about 200,000 for tech companies and data centers. A national institute to examine AI's impacts was also launched at the event.
The rhetoric is sharp. According to reports, Askal argued that whoever controls AI will control the 'switch' of states, and that within a few years Israel's national infrastructure will run on AI. A country entirely dependent on models and servers from American or Chinese companies, by that logic, puts part of its national security in their hands.
What was missing from the speech was money and timelines. According to Calcalist, no funding amount and no deadline for the targets were presented. A Tel Aviv University professor previously estimated that infrastructure for 100,000 processors alone would cost $20 billion to $30 billion or more, depending on hardware and data-center costs. Power infrastructure of 2 gigawatts is equivalent to a significant part of Israel's entire peak electricity consumption.
The Israeli context is clear: tech giants are building data centers at an unprecedented pace, countries such as France, Britain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing billions in national AI, and Israel, despite its strong industry, rents nearly all of its computing power from foreign companies. The question is whether this vision gets a budget, or joins the long list of national plans that stayed on a slide.
