The software giant Oracle is opening a startup accelerator program in Tel Aviv to fuel local cloud-enabled Israeli innovation.

Run by the Oracle research and development team, the program will provide six months of mentoring from technical and business experts, state-of-the-art technology, a co-working space, and access not only to Oracle’s customers, partners, and investors, but also to a global network of startup peers.

The call for applications will open later in 2017.

“The next five to 10 years promise innovations and growth that will drive new business ideas enabled by the cloud,” said Oracle Senior Vice President of Product Development Reggie Bradford. “Oracle understands that startups are at the heart of innovation, and through this program we aim to give startups access to extensive resources and support when they need it most.”

He said that Israel has “one of the most vibrant and exciting startup ecosystems with a rich heritage of innovation.”

Oracle Israel opened an Excellence Center in 2003 for Israeli startups, independent software vendors, and original equipment manufacturers in cooperation with the Israeli Economy Ministry’s Office of the Chief Scientist. Companies that have taken part have realized more than $150 million in total estimated buyouts.

“Oracle today marks the 20th anniversary of its Israeli subsidiary. Over the past two decades, the company has acted as a source of innovation in Israel,” said Uzi Navon, Oracle Israel country leader, on January 16.

Oracle’s Israel R&D team is composed of eight development centers that have joined Oracle by acquisitions.

In an acquisition that presaged the opening of this accelerator, Oracle acquired the Israeli cloud computing startup Ravello last February for $500 million. The acquisition was seen as an attempt by Oracle, the world’s second-biggest software maker after Microsoft, to compete with the cloud computing services offered by Microsoft and Amazon.

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: Israel21c ]