Miami Beach will host the first U.S. edition of GoForIsrael, a conference connecting Israeli companies with international investors, on December 14, 2026. The event is expected to bring roughly 50 Israeli companies to the Fontainebleau Hotel. The conference has convened annually since 1997; organizers had initially planned its U.S. debut for an earlier date this year.
The Miami Beach gathering is the first time GoForIsrael has been held in the United States, according to Cukierman & Co. Investment House, which organizes the event with Catalyst Investment. Previous conferences have been held in Israel, Europe, Asia, and the United Arab Emirates. Refresh Miami reported that organizers first scheduled the U.S. event for March 16, 2026, then moved it to Oct. 26 before settling on the December date.
The conference organizers anticipate at least 300 attendees and say about 50 Israeli companies will present, spanning life sciences and high-tech fields including artificial intelligence. Edouard Cukierman, who organizes the event, told Refresh Miami he expects each Israeli entrepreneur to meet around 10 investors during the day.
A Major Exit Will Headline the Pitch Sessions
RealSense, an Israeli maker of AI vision technology, is among the companies expected to draw attention. Cukierman told Refresh Miami that a RealSense executive is expected to discuss the proposed acquisition at the conference. The deal is valued at more than $600 million. Cognex's September 22 announcement described a definitive agreement, not a completed sale, and said the transaction was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Also on investors' radar will be Wonderful, which raised $550 million in a funding round in September 2026 led by Insight Partners, reaching a $5 billion valuation just 20 months after launching. Organizers say Michael Fertik, associated with Heroic Ventures and ModelCode.ai, is expected to attend, per the conference organizers.
Why South Florida Keeps Drawing Israeli Startups
South Florida has become a top destination for Israeli companies expanding overseas, and the numbers back that up. More than 400 Israeli companies called Florida home as of 2025, with about two-thirds based in Miami-Dade County, according to a 2025 US-Israel Business Alliance report cited in the Refresh Miami piece. A separate 2026 report found 429 Israeli-founded companies supporting 26,510 jobs statewide, according to a PR Newswire release on the 5WPR study, with Israeli-founded firms accounting for $6 billion in output and 2.78 percent of Miami-Dade County's GDP.
That same research, detailed on 5WPR's research page, found Israeli-founded companies in Florida concentrated in cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, agritech, cleantech, defense technology, and space innovation. The report pointed to zero state income tax, access to Latin American markets, strong infrastructure, frequent direct flights between Miami and Tel Aviv, and an established Israeli and Jewish business community as drivers behind the trend. The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator, the report noted, has already supported more than 100 companies entering the Florida market.
A record of Israeli companies entering Florida
The Florida-Israel Business Accelerator says it has scouted, vetted, and supported over 120 Israeli tech companies since 2017, according to FIBA. As a separate example of a company expansion, Refresh Miami reported that Israeli solar company Apollo Power expanded to Miami in 2024; that move was distinct from the GoForIsrael conference.
Cukierman said the majority of Israeli entrepreneurs are now moving into the U.S. market, according to Refresh Miami's reporting, with 27 percent of Israeli entrepreneurs saying they had created their firm in the U.S. before the Iran war.
Momentum Across the Broader Israeli Tech Sector
The timing lines up with a broader surge in Israeli tech exits. The value of Israeli venture exit deals more than tripled to $58.8 billion in 2025, according to Refresh Miami's coverage of Israel Tech Week Miami, which cited Google's $32 billion acquisition of Wiz and Palo Alto Networks' $25 billion purchase of CyberArk as examples of the scale of recent deals. Miami has recently emerged as a burgeoning center for technology and venture capital investments, according to Calcalist.
Israel, a country of about 10 million people roughly comparable in size to Pennsylvania, is often called Startup Nation and attracts more venture capital per person than any other country, according to the dossier's background on the sector. Israel Tech Week, a separate Miami event that began in 2025 and drew about 1,500 people and 150 speakers in its first edition, is scheduled to return April 4-8, 2027.
GoForIsrael's December date also arrives against the backdrop of Israeli elections, which have been called for October 27, 2026, though the dossier does not draw any direct connection between the vote and the conference's scheduling. Investors and startups attending the Miami Beach event can schedule one-on-one meetings in advance through the conference platform, organizers say.
