According to industry experts, Ignite is set to be operational from later this year and will gradually expand to other countries over time. Intel Corp. has reportedly announced that it is setting up a startup accelerator program named Ignite to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) and work on autonomous systems in Israel. Reportedly, Intel, through its program, will provide mentorship and guidance to these start ups and will also provide access to the company's global market systems, technological and business-related knowledge for them to grow. Bob Swan, CEO, Intel Corp, was reportedly quoted saying that Ignite is a very important program and will boost the growth of early stage startups in Israel that are trying to gain access to latest technological advancements in the key industrial areas where Intel operates in. The program will facilitate a greater collaboration between Intel and the local startups, he further added. As per trusted sources, the program is set to host 10-15 startups and will receive hands on training from Intel and industry related experts in the field of technology, business and management over a period of 20 weeks. Yaniv Garty, General Manager, Intel Israel reportedly stated that Intel has no plans to seek Intellectual Property rights or equity in these firms. The startups that are diverse will be taken into key considerations for the program and Intel will eventually invest in them via its venture capital fund, Garty further added. For the record, Intel is the largest non - government employer in Israel and the country is said to have a deep scale base in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Intel wishes to offer the right amount of guidance to the selected startups in order to motivate them to explore more in the field of AI. Apparently, Intel has moved from manufacturing chips for PCs to a company offering much wider range of products like semiconductors, drones, cloud-based technologies and sensors for driverless cars. Reportedly, Ignite is set to be operational from later this year and will gradually expand to other countries over time. Sources: https://www.timesofisrael.com/intel-to-ignite-key-startup-tech-with-accelerator-program-in-tel-aviv/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-announces-program-to-help-israeli-ai-startups/