Israel Issues Project Nexus Tender to Establish National Quantum Computing Platform

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office National AI Directorate and the Finance Ministry Accountant General’s Department have launched Project Nexus, a tender to establish a national “Blue and White” quantum computing platform, together with two Requests for Information on Physical AI infrastructure and foundational AI models. The initiatives mark the transition to the implementation phase of Israel’s national AI strategy under Government Decision 4255, with the stated aims of securing growth engines, technological sovereignty, and global leadership.

National Quantum Computing Platform

Project Nexus centers on a government tender to establish a domestically produced quantum computing platform aimed at ensuring Israel has an indigenous system while remaining open to the range of quantum technologies under development across the country’s research and industrial base. Officials described the effort as establishing a national platform rather than a single research instrument, positioning it to accommodate multiple hardware approaches. The project is framed as a long-term undertaking; procurement is expected only after the underlying technology reaches sufficient maturity, and the multi-stage tender process is anticipated to span several years.

The announcement comes alongside a separate July 2026 call by the Israel Innovation Authority for proposals valued at NIS 100 million ($33 million USD) to create a national quantum R&D infrastructure. That call requires the selected facility to integrate at least three distinct quantum processing technologies and to begin delivering services to industry and academia within 12 months of approval, with full establishment targeted within 18 months. Together, the initiatives suggest a complementary near-term multi-platform access route for researchers and companies alongside a longer-horizon sovereign production capability under Project Nexus.

Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Erez Eskel, Director of the National AI Directorate, stated that Government Decision 4255 aims to secure Israel’s place at the forefront of global AI and that the Directorate is moving from strategy definition to practical implementation. The quantum platform forms one pillar of that infrastructure agenda.

Sovereignty Goals and Ecosystem Support

Alongside the quantum tender, the National AI Directorate published Requests for Information for a national Physical AI simulation and real-world testing environment and for pathways to Israeli sovereignty in foundational models. The Physical AI facility is intended to serve as a global center for real-world simulations spanning highways, medical settings, advanced manufacturing, and agriculture, with the objective of accelerating progress in robotics, edge computing, sensing, and data processing. The foundation-models RFI seeks to map domestic capabilities and identify measures that maximize Israel’s comparative advantages in large-scale AI systems.

Senior Finance Ministry Deputy Accountant General for Innovation and Technology Evyatar Peretz, who chairs the Special Tenders Committee, emphasized that collaboration between the Accountant General’s Department and the National Directorate translates government decisions into contractual mechanisms that place the required infrastructure on the ground. The steps, he noted, are intended to lower barriers for industry, ensure technological sovereignty, and enable global-scale advances.

No specific funding envelope or technical specifications for Project Nexus itself were disclosed. Director Eskel previously estimated that full implementation of the broader national AI plan would require an annual budget on the order of NIS 5 billion ($1.66 billion USD). The quantum and AI measures are presented as interdependent elements of a single sovereignty and competitiveness strategy.

Bottom Line

Project Nexus advances a tender-stage path toward sovereign quantum infrastructure within Israel’s broader national AI strategy focused on technological independence.

Find out more here.

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