IIA Ideation (Tnufa)

IIA Ideation (Tnufa) Rolling

Funds Israeli entrepreneurs validating high-potential concepts through early-stage technical development support.

Tnufa is the Israel Innovation Authority's earliest-stage funding program, designed for individual entrepreneurs and newly formed Israeli startups — companies up to approximately three years old — who are at the concept validation stage of an innovative technology. The grant covers up to 80 percent of an approved project budget, up to a maximum of NIS 200,000 over a 12-month project period. Eligible expenses include materials, prototype construction, intellectual property protection, sub-contractors, consultants, patent attorney fees, and exhibition costs. Salaries and general overhead are not covered. The program is sector-agnostic, supporting early-stage concepts in hardware, software, life sciences, cleantech, medtech, cybersecurity, IoT, and agritech. Eligible TRL range is 1 to 3.

Unlike most public R&D programs, Tnufa explicitly allows entrepreneurs to apply without incorporating a company and without leaving current employment — participation does not require any IP assignment to the IIA. Only the applicant's 20 percent self-funded co-investment and project execution are required. The grant is conditional: royalty-back repayment applies only if the project later commercializes, on standard IIA terms. If the project does not reach commercial sales, no repayment is owed. The program is open on a rolling basis throughout the year with no fixed submission deadlines.

Tnufa is widely used as a structured entry point into the IIA ecosystem. Graduates who achieve a validated proof of concept or early prototype typically progress to the IIA's main R&D Fund or to one of the bilateral international R&D programs. Applicants should present a clearly articulated technology concept, a realistic 12-month development plan with defined deliverables, and a budget that maps directly to allowable expense categories rather than general operational costs.