April 10th, 2026 🦁 6th Week of War 🤖 Leading Global AI Together 📈 Strong Stock Market Dear Readers, This is week 6 of Operation Roaring Lion / Epic Fury. This week’s policy developments were quickly reflected in the markets. The ceasefire and the announcement of negotiations with the Lebanese government led to a sharp 31% drop in the VTA-35, the Israeli stock exchange’s fear index. This was a clear sign that market anxiety eased, at least for now. At the same time, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange continued to show both depth and resilience. In March, average daily equity trading volume reached an all-time high of NIS 5.94 billion. That marked an increase of about 10% compared with February 2026, which had also set a record, and a 117% jump compared with March 2025. The result is a more liquid market, with greater ease in buying and selling shares even during a complex security reality. The equity market began April on a strong note. Since the close on March 31, the TA-125 index has risen 7.94% and the TA-35 has added about 8.4%. These are particularly strong performances relative to leading global indices and point to a very positive market response in the opening days of the month. In foreign exchange, the shekel strengthened sharply this week, reaching its highest level against the dollar since 1995 - and is currently trading at 3.03 NIS per dollar. At the same time, and despite expectations that the war would weigh on growth in the first quarter of 2026, Israel’s tech sector is presenting an encouraging picture. Preliminary data from the IVC and LeumiTech report point to a 34% increase in total Israeli tech fundraising in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. The full report is expected in the coming weeks. Within that picture, Israel’s position in artificial intelligence stands out. According to the OECD report, Israel ranks among the global leaders in AI investment relative to the size of its economy, alongside the United States, with one of the world’s highest ratios of venture capital investment to GDP at about 0.4% of GDP. One of the report’s most striking findings is that about 69% of all venture capital investment in Israel in 2025 went to AI companies. That share places Israel second in the world after the United States and highlights how central the field has become to the local tech sector. Even by absolute sums of investments, Israel is among the global leaders.  These figures stand out even more against the global backdrop, where AI is becoming the main focus of venture capital investment. In other words, Israel is not only part of the trend, but one of the countries at its center. The report also shows that the global AI market is becoming increasingly concentrated around companies with proven growth potential, technological advantage, and access to computing infrastructure. For Israel, this is an especially positive signal: the local ecosystem, built on deep innovation, strong human capital, and advanced technology companies, is well positioned to benefit from this trend. Stay informed and stand with Israel,  Noach Hacker Tech Boost at Q1 Initial findings from the upcoming IVC-LeumiTech Tech Review show that Israeli tech companies raised near $3.1 billion across 98 rounds, up 34% from Q1 2025, while deal volume remained unchanged. Funding stayed concentrated in large rounds, which made up 51% of total capital raised, with cybersecurity drawing 40% of the total and GenAI 16.1%. At the same time, early-stage investment surged, reaching $1.3 billion, or 42% of total funding, while defense tech’s share fell sharply to under 1%. This data is slightly lower than Q4 of 2025. Source: IVC Together at the Top of AI OECD data for 2025 shows that the United States and Israel led globally in VC investment relative to GDP, placing both at the top worldwide. Israel also ranked second in AI’s share of domestic venture capital activity, with nearly 69% of all VC investment in the country going to AI companies, just behind the United States at 72%. Globally, AI accounted for 61% of total VC investment in 2025, while the United States captured about 75% of total global AI VC value. Israeli Stocks Start April Strong Israeli stock indexes started April with strong momentum, outperforming several leading global benchmarks in the first days of the month. The Banking Index rose 8.6%, ahead of the TA-35, which gained 8.4%, and the TA-125, up 7.9%. By comparison, Germany’s DAX increased 5.7% and the S&P 500 rose 4.7%. Tech stocks also posted solid gains, climbing more than 6% since the close on March 31, while real estate shares moved higher as well.