BIRAD, its technology transfer company, is one of the partners in the Augmenta Health Incubator group, which was selected by the Israel Innovation Authority to establish and operate a new deep tech incubator in the field of human-machine interface (HMI).
Alongside BIRAD, the group’s partners are aMoon, Elbit Systems and Incubit, the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), and OpImpact. The Authority selected two new incubators, one in Physical AI and one in HMI.
A Five-Year Franchise and a Grant of Up to NIS 40 Million
The group received a five-year franchise, and the incubator is eligible for a grant of up to NIS 40 million from the Israel Innovation Authority to cover management fees and the establishment of central labs. Companies founded in the incubator will also be able to receive investments from the incubator, from additional investors, and from the Authority through its Launch Fund. According to the Authority, state participation may reach up to NIS 23 million per company, from Pre-Seed and Seed through Round A.
Human-Machine Interface and the Incubator’s Fields of Activity
Human-machine interface is a field of technologies that enable direct communication between the human body and brain and computerized systems, such as prosthetic limbs that integrate with the body and communicate with the nervous system. The incubator will establish companies in health, neurotechnology, robotics, bioconvergence, and dual-use technologies.
The Roles of Bar-Ilan and BIRAD
Bar-Ilan, through BIRAD, is expected to make the university’s research infrastructure available to the incubator’s companies, including advanced imaging and microscopy, proteomics, nanotechnology, preclinical research, and AI and bioinformatics capabilities. This will allow young companies to use advanced scientific equipment and professional expertise at critical stages of development, without building infrastructure of their own.
“Human-machine interfaces are no longer just a research question. They are becoming companies, products, and treatments. Bar-Ilan brings research knowledge and advanced scientific infrastructure to the incubator, and BIRAD, the university’s bridge to industry, brings the capabilities that turn research into applications: protection and management of intellectual property, licensing and commercialization, business development, and connections to industry and to researchers. Good research is not measured only in papers. It is also measured by whether it reaches those who need it.”
Dr. Zvika Ben Porat, CEO of BIRAD
The partnership in the incubator gives Bar-Ilan and BIRAD another platform for connecting university research with industry and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The road from the lab to the patient runs through collaboration, and the new incubator is another step along it.