IIA Magnet Consortium R&D

IIA Magnet Consortium R&D

Supports pre-competitive technology infrastructure work through Israeli industry and research consortium cooperation.

The Israel Innovation Authority's Magnet program funds pre-competitive, multi-partner R&D consortia that bring together Israeli industrial companies and Israeli academic research institutions to develop generic technology infrastructure of broad strategic value. A qualifying consortium typically includes three or more Israeli industrial companies and at least one Israeli academic partner, working together on technology that each industrial member will later independently commercialize in its own products. Project durations run three to five years, and the program has an estimated annual pool of approximately ILS 200M supporting around 12 active consortia. Individual consortium grants range from ILS 5M to ILS 50M, with a typical median around ILS 15M. Eligible TRL range is 2 to 5.

Academic consortium partners receive approximately 66 percent of their project costs as a non-royalty-back research grant. Industrial partners receive a smaller direct share and are subject to standard IIA royalty-back repayment terms on any outputs they individually commercialize from the consortium's work. The underlying logic is pre-competitive: the technology being built is infrastructure shared across the consortium, not a single company's product — enabling cost and knowledge sharing that no single firm would fund alone. At least one for-profit Israeli company must participate; universities, research organizations, and nonprofits may be members but cannot lead without an industrial co-applicant.

Magnet has historically supported major Israeli technology consortia in semiconductors, communications, biotech, and AI. Applicants should define clearly the generic technology challenge that requires multi-partner collaboration, map out each consortium member's role and IP rights, and demonstrate that the resulting technology infrastructure will be broadly applicable across multiple future commercial products rather than exclusive to one participant. Consortium formation and stakeholder alignment typically require significant lead time before formal submission.