Israeli builders and construction professionals believe they can leverage local technological prowess to revolutionize the highly regulated, conservative and traditional building industry and make their country a global leader in the field.

“How do we bring innovation to an industry that is stuck in the seventies, technologically?” asked Shay Pauzner, the deputy director general of Hitachdut Boney Ha’aretz, the Israel Builders Association, which represents some 2,000 construction companies working in Israel.

“We want to build a construction-tech sector in Israel,” said Pauzner.

The idea is to make Israel a global technology hub that will spearhead innovation in the sector, similar to what Mobileye and other automotive startups are doing for the automotive industry globally.

Intel Corp.’s massive acquisition of Jerusalem-based Mobileye for $15.3 billion in March this year has pushed Israel to the forefront of the highly competitive autonomous car and auto-tech industry. Some 450 companies in Israel are currently engaged in smart transportation fields such as travel sharing, communication, sensors and control systems, according to the Israel Innovation Authority. Israel represented some 4 percent of the global auto-tech deal share in 2016, the third-largest globally after the US (68%) and Canada (7%), a  CB Insights report said.

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