“It’s almost poetic: In one of the world’s oldest cities, you now find an ecosystem focused on extending life,” said Jerusalem resident Jessica Rosner of Tech It Forward (www.techitforward.com/), a technology-scouting business that connects international health and personal care corporations with Israeli start-ups and researchers.
The field of longevity tech, also called silver tech or age tech, encompasses age-delaying biotechnologies intended to add years to life; and assistive/cognitive/well-being technologies intended to add life to years.
Both aspects of this multidisciplinary effort to extend lifespan and healthspan are well represented in Israel’s capital city.
“It’s not surprising that Israel, which has the fourth-highest life expectancy among OECD countries, is leading in longevity,” said Rosner. “Israel combines medical excellence, data strength, and an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Longevity, and specifically healthy longevity, is a hot topic around the world, especially in European and Asian countries where the dwindling reproduction rate has led to aging populations without a young workforce to care for them. It’s the subject of frequent conferences and academic summits, and investors are starting to take notice.
Israel in general has a good share of longevity start-ups, and Jerusalem in particular is of increasing interest to Tech It Forward clients from the United States, Brazil, and Europe.
“The start-ups and researchers here are world class,” said Tech It Forward partner Jennifer Elias. “What makes Jerusalem unique is the density of its research institutions and the proximity between universities, hospitals, start-ups, and investors. The Hebrew University, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, is particularly strong in geriatrics, wellness, and longevity research.”
Furthermore, Elias said, “There’s a very holistic approach here: You’ll find researchers in geriatrics and wellness, start-ups working on aging reversal or early diagnostics, and companies innovating in nutrition, brain health, and preventive care.”
Investment
Raissa Hacohen, managing partner of HUR Partners and chief investment officer at Longevity Venture Partners (www.longevityventurepartners.com/) – anchored by American eldercare conglomerate CommuniCare – said that about 90% of LVP’s portfolio is Israeli.
“We’re focused on technologies that reimagine the way we live in order to improve the way we age,” she said. “We’re living longer, so we need to be thinking about how to match healthspan and lifespan. A lot of our entrepreneurs are very dedicated to these specific problems. And it so happens that Israeli entrepreneurs are 10 times better than the average entrepreneur because of the levels of resilience and creativity they have to have, given the lack of resources.”
Jerusalem has a strong life-sciences sector, she pointed out. Health-related innovation centers include ALYNnovation at ALYN rehabilitation hospital; BioJerusalem, Jerusalem BioPark (Hadassah University Medical Center-Hebrew University Biotechnology Park); and SHAAR, the Shaare Zedek-Arieli Healthcare Innovation Hub.
Even with all of that, she believes the city hasn’t fully realized its potential.
“Jerusalem is very high in intentionality and human capital, including a lot of olim [new immigrants] who speak a lot of different languages. I think we don’t have enough hi-tech in the city. Based on the exceptional talent of the population, we should. It’s a tight-knit community, so you can get a lot done a lot faster.”
Below are some examples of longevity tech companies with Jerusalem ties.
Easing social isolation
Janine Kutliroff, founder of Brya (www.brya.com/), an AI-powered social health platform for older adults, said she wants her start-up “to be a Jerusalem success. I wouldn’t open an office in Tel Aviv; I want to help put Jerusalem on the start-up ecosystem map and attract more talent.”
Kutliroff is well acquainted with the Jerusalem talent pool. After making aliyah from Rhode Island in 2002, she developed and headed IDT’s international call center in Jerusalem’s Har Hotzvim tech park that employed about 900 people at its peak.
Rooted in the Hebrew word for “creation,” Brya helps adults stay socially active and connected, digitally and in real life.
Kutliroff cited scientific evidence of the “astonishing connection between staying social and staying healthy.”
“In our early years, all the transitions of life lead us down social paths, but transitions in later years leave people without a structure to stay socially grounded – and that leads to loneliness, isolation, and health decline,” she said. “With Brya, we anchor and guide users through critical elements of this phase of life, using AI tools.”
Brya went live in 2023 in Dallas, and then relaunched a year ago in New York. The platform is now expanding to Florida and other US markets.
Turning back the clock
Ananda Labs (www.ananda-labs.bio/) is a New York-headquartered regenerative medicine start-up founded on more than a decade of research by award-winning Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientist Prof. Yossi Buganim that aims to rejuvenate and restore the function of aging cells in tissues such as skin, blood, and eyes.
Operating from Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood, Buganim’s lab benefits from access to anonymized patient data and close collaborations with immunologists and transplant physicians.
The company’s core technology uses a proprietary combination of placental stem cell–associated genes to partially reprogram adult cells without altering their DNA, thereby turning back their biological clock and enhancing their regenerative capacity.
“We tackle the root cause of aging, not the symptoms,” said Buganim. “It’s not about masking wrinkles with Botox; it’s about restoring cellular youthfulness.”
Chairman Eliron Yaron noted that the two-year-old company is developing a range of affordable, preventive therapies designed to be safer and more accessible than existing solutions.
“By rejuvenating blood stem cells, we aim to slow immune-system decline and help prevent chronic age-related diseases,” Yaron said. “This approach could extend healthy lifespan by 10 to 20 years.”
Ananda’s skincare line is expected to reach the market within four to five years, while its therapies for age-related macular degeneration and immune rejuvenation are projected to follow within the next decade as development advances.
Solving travel pain points
Miriam Eljas Goldman, an entrepreneur who moved here from New York in 2008, was working at Jerusalem-based OurCrowd – a crowdfunding VC that has made significant investments in longevity tech – when she decided that she missed having her own business.
So, she founded accessibleGO (accessiblego.com/home) with Floridian CTO Jeff Schlanger to fill an unmet need for American travelers with cognitive or physical disabilities, as well as users who develop disabilities as they age. About half of approximately 120,000 registrants are over the age of 55.
“As people are retiring and have disposable income to travel, they also have special requirements. They may need bathroom grab bars in their hotel room or hand controls in their rental car,” Goldman explained.
“The major travel sites can’t guarantee that you’ll get these amenities. When you book through accessibleGO, our added value is that our team checks every booking to confirm that your needs will get met. We solve these pain points through data, information, and services.”
Goldman said it was relatively easy to launch a start-up in Jerusalem. “We have a great talent pool of super creative people here, a great investor community, and phenomenal advisers.
“Everyone wants to help each other succeed.”