TEL AVIV, Israel | Google is expanding its research and development operations in Israel with a new engineering group dedicated to building artificial intelligence processors for robots, autonomous systems and other devices that perform AI calculations directly at the edge.
Guy Kaminitz, former vice-president of research and development at Israeli AI-chip company Hailo, is leading the initiative after recently joining Google as silicon engineering head in Israel.
Kaminitz said he had joined Google to lead a new silicon engineering initiative within the companyโs Edge AI organization and that the team is being built from the ground up in Israel.
Google is recruiting dozens of engineers for the new group, including specialists in machine-learning hardware architecture, chip verification, physical design and silicon validation.
The move represents another major vote of confidence in Israelโs semiconductor and AI engineering talent at a time when the global technology industry is racing to develop chips capable of powering increasingly autonomous machines.
AI Moves From the Cloud to the Edge
Most attention on AI hardware in recent years has focused on massive processors used inside data centers to train and run large artificial intelligence models.
Edge AI works differently.
Instead of sending every calculation to a remote cloud server, edge processors allow devices to run AI workloads locally.
That can include robots interpreting camera feeds, autonomous vehicles reacting to road conditions, drones navigating changing environments, industrial machines monitoring production lines, or smart cameras analyzing information in real time.
Processing data directly on the device can reduce latency, improve reliability, and let systems keep operating even when network connectivity is limited.
That makes edge AI particularly important for robotics and autonomous systems, where delays of even fractions of a second can matter.
Googleโs new Israeli group is expected to focus on precisely that category of computing.
Hailo Executive Recruited to Lead Team
Kaminitz brings direct experience from one of Israelโs best-known AI semiconductor companies.
He previously served as vice president of research and development at Hailo, which specialized in energy-efficient AI processors for edge devices.
Hailo developed chips aimed at applications including automotive systems, industrial equipment, security cameras, and other machines that need to perform AI processing without depending entirely on cloud infrastructure.
Kaminitzโs recruitment therefore gives Google an experienced Israeli executive with a background directly aligned with the companyโs new edge-AI chip initiative.
His move came after U.S. semiconductor company Microchip Technology acquired Hailo in late July.
The timing has also created a pool of highly specialized Israeli chip engineers familiar with AI acceleration and edge computing.
Google Expands Longstanding Israeli R&D Presence
Google has maintained major research and development operations in Israel since 2005.
Over the years, its Israeli teams have worked across search, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, networking and semiconductor technologies.
The company has also steadily expanded its involvement in chip design.
The new group differs from a conventional sales or support operation because it will work directly on silicon engineering, one of the most complex and strategically important areas of modern technology development.
Google has invested heavily in proprietary chips, including its Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, which are designed to accelerate AI workloads.
Google Cloud chief executive Thomas Kurian recently said the companyโs AI chip business had grown to more than twice the size of its nearest hyperscale rival, reflecting how important custom silicon has become to Googleโs overall AI strategy.
The Israeli initiative extends that semiconductor effort toward a different computing environment: autonomous machines operating outside centralized data centers.
Israel Has Become a Global Chip-Design Hub
Israel has developed one of the worldโs strongest concentrations of semiconductor engineering talent outside the United States and East Asia.
Major technology companies including Intel, Apple, NVIDIA, Amazon and Google have established substantial chip-development operations in the country.
Israeli engineers have played important roles in processors used in personal computers, data centers, networking hardware, mobile devices and AI systems.
The countryโs semiconductor sector has also produced a growing number of start-ups working on specialized processors, networking technologies and artificial intelligence acceleration.
That talent base gives multinational companies access to engineers with expertise across chip architecture, verification, physical design, embedded systems and artificial intelligence.
Googleโs decision to build the new team in Israel reinforces that position.
Physical AI Creates New Hardware Demand
The new chip group also fits closely with Israelโs broader push into what industry leaders increasingly call Physical AI.
Israel held its first national conference dedicated to Physical AI this week, bringing together government officials, investors, technology companies and international firms to examine how artificial intelligence will move from software into robots, autonomous vehicles and other physical machines.
The Israeli government has described the transition as an opportunity to build on the countryโs strengths in AI, cybersecurity, computer vision, sensing and autonomous systems.
Googleโs expansion provides a concrete example of how that shift is already affecting investment decisions.
Robots and autonomous machines require much more than powerful AI software.
They also need processors that can run advanced models while consuming relatively little power, operating reliably in real time, and fitting inside physical devices.
That combination creates a major new semiconductor market.
A Significant Vote of Confidence
For Israelโs technology sector, Googleโs decision matters beyond the number of engineers it hires.
A multinational company choosing Israel for highly specialized chip development sends a strong signal about the perceived quality of the countryโs engineering workforce.
The new group will not simply adapt existing Google products for the Israeli market.
It will help design the hardware that could power future generations of robots and autonomous systems worldwide.
That places Israeli engineers directly inside one of the most important technology races now taking shape.
For decades, Israel built its reputation around software, cybersecurity, and advanced electronics.
As AI moves increasingly into the physical world, Google is betting that Israeli engineering talent can also help build the silicon that makes those machines intelligent.
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