THE JERUSALEM REPORT APRIL 9, 2012 33

L
IKE MANY ISRAELI START-
ups, Outbrain has been highly fo-
cused on the United States since
its inception in 2006. The com-
pany, which helps readers discov-
er interesting content by collecting user
recommendations, describes itself as an
American-Israeli company. It has head-
quarters in New York, while the Netanya
oIfce in Israel serves as its research and
development arm. More branches are lo-
cated in San Francisco, Washington and
Chicago.
But the global marketplace today in-
cludes much more than just the American
market. Outbrain began expanding out-
side the US in late 2010 and early 2011.
The company considered several possible
places for its European headquarters, but
soon settled on London. Ireland and Swit-
zerland were strong contenders, but Lon-
don won out, says Eytan Galai, Outbrains
managing director. The ease of doing
business there and its international status
made it natural to be located there.
Galais words are exactly what Britains
Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould,
likes to hear. Gould, who was appointed
ambassador in September 2010, set him-
self a target early on to increase UK-Israel
high technology business partnerships. At
his initiative, the British Embassy in Tel
Aviv established a UK-Israel Technologies
Hub to promote cooperation in technolo-
gy-related felds. The hub was tasked with
positioning the United Kingdom as a natu-
ral partner of choice for Israel in technol-
ogy and to ensure that the UK market can
make full use of the breadth and quality of
Israeli R&D and innovation.
Goulds initiative is unique. His Tel
Aviv team is the only dedicated group
in the world promoting high-tech coop-
eration from inside an embassy, British or
otherwise.
The hub, formally founded in October
2011 and chaired by Haim Shani, former
director general of the Finance Minis-
try, has received the enthusiastic backing
of British Chancellor of the Exchequer
George Osborne, who addressed the teams
launch via a video in which he called for
an increase to the export of expertise
and capital from Israel into Britain. It
has already conducted several meetings
in which representatives of local technol-
ogy companies have met potential British
partners, and hosted a high-level delega-
tion of more than a dozen British business
executives, headed by the UK Minister of
State for Universities and Science David
Willetts, who came to Israel Ior a frsthand
look at the countrys technology sector.
ZIV HELLMAN visits the worlds frst technology hub based in
a diplomatic mission and fnds the British Embassy in Tel Aviv
buzzing with opportunities
Her Majestys hub
I know that the default
option for Israeli tech
entrepreneurs is to go
straight across Atlantic.
Let me tell you why you
should stop in London frst