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Does Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. support Israel?
Yes — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.
Filed under: Tech companies · Household & consumer goods brands · Companies that support Israel
Background
Samsung's documented ties to Israel are commercial and R&D-driven: research centers dating to the late 1990s, the TransChip (2007) and Corephotonics (2019) acquisitions, and roughly 70 startup investments through Samsung NEXT Tel Aviv. A 2024 viral claim that Samsung 'left Israel' refers only to Samsung NEXT closing its Tel Aviv office in April 2024 — a business consolidation the BDS movement celebrated as a withdrawal, while Samsung said Israel 'remains an attractive market,' kept its portfolio relationships, and its Israeli R&D centers and market operations continue. No corporate donations to the Israeli government or military are on record.
Calcalist / CTech The New Arab BDS Movement (claim of withdrawal)
Timeline of documented support
Documented support
| Type | Date | Amount | Recipient | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | 2007-10 | — | TransChip (Israeli image-sensor developer) Samsung Electronics acquired Herzliya-based CMOS image-sensor developer TransChip — its first foreign acquisition in about a decade, reportedly around $70 million — and converted it into an Israeli R&D center that became the Samsung Israel R&D Center (SIRC). | |
| Operations in Israel | 2007 | — | Samsung R&D centers in Israel Operates R&D in Israel through the corporation itself (not a local franchisee): the Samsung Israel R&D Center (SIRC) in Tel Aviv works on flash memory, image sensors, image processing and computer vision, and Samsung Research Israel (SRIL) develops software technologies. Samsung's Israeli R&D presence dates to the late 1990s and continues today. | |
| Investment / program | 2016-09 | — | Israeli startups (~70 companies via Samsung NEXT Tel Aviv) Samsung NEXT, the company's venture/innovation arm backed by a $150 million global fund, opened a Tel Aviv office in September 2016 and invested in roughly 70 Israeli startups over about a decade. In April 2024 Samsung NEXT announced it was closing the Tel Aviv office and consolidating work in the US, while saying Israel remains an attractive market and existing portfolio relationships would be unchanged. | |
| Acquisition | 2019-01 | $155,000,000 | Corephotonics (Israeli smartphone-camera developer) Acquired Tel Aviv-based Corephotonics, developer of dual-camera and zoom technology for smartphones, for $155 million; Samsung's venture arm had already invested in two of the startup's earlier funding rounds, and the team was folded into Samsung's Israeli R&D operations. |
Frequently asked questions
Did Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?
We have no records of cash donations, but Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has documented support of other kinds (Acquisition, Operations in Israel, Investment / program). See the records on this page.
Where does this information come from?
Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 13 distinct sources are cited for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.
Sources & citations
Record last updated: 2026-07-21
- Semiconductor Digest sst.semiconductor-digest.com
- Telecompaper telecompaper.com
- Times of Israel timesofisrael.com
- Samsung Semiconductor — SIRC (official) semiconductor.samsung.com
- Samsung Research — SR Israel (official) research.samsung.com
- Times of Israel timesofisrael.com
- Samsung Newsroom (official, $150M fund) news.samsung.com
- Calcalist / CTech calcalistech.com
- Globes en.globes.co.il
- Calcalist / CTech calcalistech.com
- Times of Israel timesofisrael.com
- The New Arab newarab.com
- BDS Movement (claim of withdrawal) bdsmovement.net