Registry · TEF

Does Telefónica S.A. support Israel?

Support documentedupdated 2026-07-30

Yes — Telefónica S.A. has documented support for Israel on record. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Tech companies · Companies that support Israel

Background

Telefónica sells telecoms services under the Movistar, O2 and Vivo brands in Spain, Germany, the UK and Latin America; it holds no Israeli network licence and owns no Israeli operator. Its documented Israeli ties are technical and financial rather than political: an in-house R&D team present since 2010, an investment partnership with the Jerusalem incubator VLX Ventures announced in 2014, and venture investments made from 2022 through Wayra, its start-up arm, beginning with Tel Aviv's Upword. Telefónica has made no recorded donation to an Israeli charity, emergency service or government body, and issued no statement of political support for Israel; equally, it has announced no divestment from or boycott of Israel.

Times of Israel — Telefónica looking for a few good Israeli start-ups Reuters — Telefonica turns to Israel's high-tech to boost consumer portfolio Wayra (official) — Telefónica's open innovation and investment arm

Timeline of documented support

20102012201420162018202020222010 — Operations in Israel: Telefónica Digital Labs Israel (Telefónica's own Israeli R&D team)Operations in Israel20102014-10 — Partnership: VLX Ventures (Jerusalem-based technology incubator)Partnership2014-102022-04 — Investment / program: Upword (Tel Aviv, Israel)Investment / program2022-04

Documented support

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Operations in Israel2010—Telefónica Digital Labs Israel (Telefónica's own Israeli R&D team)
Telefónica has maintained a presence in Israel since 2010 through its own research-and-development team, working primarily on the group's "future communication" products. Its Israeli R&D centre developed Tu Go, the platform that lets a Telefónica customer receive calls on any device over WiFi or cellular; Gil Cohen was named CEO of Telefónica Digital Labs Israel. This is an in-house corporate operation, not a donation and not an Israeli network licence — Telefónica does not operate a telecoms network in Israel.
Partnership2014-10—VLX Ventures (Jerusalem-based technology incubator)
Telefónica announced a partnership with the Jerusalem-based incubator VLX Ventures to make joint investments in Israeli start-ups, targeting video, cloud, big data, internet-of-things, smart-home and wearable technologies. The company had previously worked with Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist (the government innovation agency) from July 2013. No Telefónica-specific commitment figure was disclosed.
Investment / program2022-04—Upword (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Wayra X, the venture arm of Telefónica, made its first Israeli investment in Upword, a Tel Aviv company building an AI-powered summarisation and reading-productivity tool, taking part in its $2 million pre-seed round. The $2 million is the round total; Wayra typically invests up to $250,000 per company and did not disclose its share. The investment followed a scouting visit to Israel in April 2022, after which Wayra X head Luisa Rubio said she hoped to have "three or four startups coming from Israel" by year-end. Wayra did not open an office in Israel.

Frequently asked questions

Did Telefónica S.A. donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of cash donations, but Telefónica S.A. has documented support of other kinds (Operations in Israel, Partnership, 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. 6 distinct sources are cited for Telefónica S.A.. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-07-30

Companies with documented support