Awz, a Canadian-Israeli investment group led by founder and CEO Yaron Ashkenazi, said on Thursday that it will build a semiconductor fabrication plant in Ashkelon as part of its new national deep-tech center, The RISE. The project, developed in collaboration with Israel’s Economy and Industry Ministry, Ashkelon Municipality, the Finance Ministry, MAFAT, the Israel Land Authority, and the Israel Innovation Authority, is slated to invest NIS 5 billion, including NIS 3 billion in Phase 1.
The fab, planned for the Terra Park industrial zone, is designed to produce advanced chips for defense and civilian applications, including AI infrastructure, quantum computing, and 5G/6G communications. According to Awz, the facility will be the first private Israeli fab to make III-V compound semiconductors on silicon and other substrates.
Awz said the chips aim to break speed bottlenecks in data transfer while significantly improving energy efficiency over standard silicon devices. A major pillar of the site will be advanced packaging capabilities for the semiconductor industry, with integration and manufacturing under one roof.
Collaboration with Israel's defense industries
The fab will operate in a hybrid model that allows for both strategic consolidation and upgrades of production lines in Israel and abroad, as well as an “open fab” track that provides startups, research institutes, and global corporations access to production. The company stated that the approach is designed to foster cross-sector collaboration with Israel’s defense industries.
Awz framed domestic chip manufacturing as a strategic priority, citing rising demand and the need to reduce import dependence while boosting exports of Israeli-made advanced semiconductors.
“The fab will be the beating heart of The RISE,” Ashkenazi said, calling the project a unique national venture intended to strengthen Israel’s security, technology, and economy, and to accelerate the South’s recovery after October 7.
Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat said the Ashkelon fab aligns with the ministry’s vision of combining international investment, Israeli innovation, and regional growth to create thousands of quality jobs and advance Israel toward becoming a global chips and deep-tech powerhouse.
Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam called the decision to locate the advanced fab in the city “a powerful vote of confidence,” saying Ashkelon is becoming a hub of innovation and advanced industry.
The RISE will also feature deep-tech laboratories, design services, and a startup incubator, all focused on core semiconductor technologies and adjacent fields such as photonics, quantum, and AI. To address talent shortages, Awz plans to launch an applied academic center in partnership with industry and leading global institutions, aiming to attract top faculty and students, including Jewish students abroad facing campus antisemitism.
Awz executives said the hub will draw new residents to the South, including graduates of elite IDF technology units, strengthening regional resilience and supporting national industrial continuity in chips and advanced technologies.
The project comes amid a wider national push to expand semiconductor capacity. Intel has made significant investments in Israel, including the expansion of its Kiryat Gat operations. The Jerusalem Post's foreign investment data for 2023 showed a sharp rise, largely tied to a single mega-deal in the chip sector. The Jerusalem Post The Economy Ministry, led by Barkat, has advanced policies to deepen US-Israel trade ties and boost industrial competitiveness. The Jerusalem Post Israel’s Innovation Authority has also pursued international collaborations in semiconductor research, including work with NY CREATES.