When India and Israel upgraded ties in February 2026 to a “Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation and Prosperity,” the two leaders left little doubt about what would drive it. Technology is at the centre. The upgrade came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Israel on 25 and 26 February, and the joint statement that followed places semiconductors inside a wider set of institutions meant to pair Israel’s deep-tech capability with India’s manufacturing base and the size of its market.
A partnership built on complementary strengths
The joint statement is candid about who brings what. It calls Israel a “technology and innovation powerhouse” and India a “hub of talent, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.” These lines describe real structural advantages, and both governments appear to be planning around them. The list of cooperation areas is long: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, agriculture and water management, defence platforms, and space exploration. Chips are one priority among several, with no flagship billing of their own.
That framing shapes how the semiconductor story should be read. A chip is rarely the product of one country’s strengths alone. It draws on design talent, capital, fabrication capacity and demand, and the statement appears to treat it as one thread in that larger weave rather than a headline project.
Security leadership at the top
The most important new element is an initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET), which the two Prime Ministers welcomed. It will be led by the National Security Advisers of both countries, with the stated aim of synergising niche technology strengths. That choice of leadership matters. Placing the initiative under the NSAs pulls technology cooperation into national security planning and gives it a direct line to the top. The leaders also asked both sides to take it forward, which suggests they want results, not just paper.
For companies and research institutions on both sides, the signal is practical. Decisions about which technologies to prioritise are likely to be shaped by security considerations as much as by commercial ones.
Funding the pipeline
For funding, the main existing channel is the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Innovation Fund, or I4F. The Prime Ministers reviewed it and agreed to strengthen how it operates, including its outreach to industry. They also agreed to raise the combined contribution to the India-Israel Joint Research Calls from $2-3 million. A Tech Gateway mechanism, still to be explored, would back joint R&D, technology validation and pilot projects.
The fine print of I4F shows how this works in practice. Its 2026 call for proposals names “smart mobility” as a strategic theme. Under that heading it lists autonomous mobility, maritime technologies, railway technologies, smart aviation, public transport and traffic management, along with electric vehicles and battery technologies.
Strategic projects on this track can get up to five million dollars. They need companies and academic institutions to apply together, and they are expected to take a technology from readiness levels 3 to 4 up to 7 to 8. The fund is built to carry an idea from early validation to a working pilot, and pairing industry with academia is meant to keep research tied to a commercial outcome.
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