Apple, which has been operating in Jerusalem for nearly four years, is expanding its presence in the city by leasing more space from Bayside Land Corp. Ltd. (Gav Yam) (TASE:BYSD1).
A source close to the deal has told "Globes" that Apple is leasing a floor - about 1,500-2,000 square meters - in the Hebrew Campus technology park, currently under construction by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Givat Ram campus. Apple is expanding its hiring for the activities in the new offices. Estimates are that Apple is paying Bayside NIS 80-90 per square meter per month, making the deal worth about NIS 2 million annually.
Apple is hiring for 28 positions in its Jerusalem development office. At all its centers throughout Israel, the company is hiring software and firmware engineers, validation examiners and Wi-Fi experts but in Jerusalem it is also seeking students who have completed at least three semesters in electrical engineering and computer science degrees.
Apple has identified the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and its integrated track, as a pool from which it can train the future generation of its hardware developers in Israel. Some 2,300 Apple employees in Israel take part in the development of some of the hardware and software components that underlie all of the company's devices, with an emphasis on the Mac M series of processors, the development of which is managed by former Israeli Johny Srouji, Apple VP chip development. Compact flash memories for Apple devices, the company's smartwatch chips, the depth camera essential for the facial recognition feature that allows the phone to be unlocked, and augmented reality applications for the Vision Pro reality headset were all developed in Israel.
New tower on the way
Apple already employs several dozen engineers at the development center it inaugurated in Jerusalem in 2022 in the Har Hotzvim tech park near Mobileye. Leasing the new floor in Givat Ram will increase Apple's operating space in the city and make it accessible to students studying at the nearby university and to its graduates, including participants in the IDF's prestigious Talpiot program.
Hebrew Campus, which is in advanced stages of construction, is expected to include four buildings that will spread over 270,000 square meters and house about 10,000 employees. The cost of construction for Bayside is estimated at NIS 1.4 billion.
Apple will be joined by Lightricks, which leased 16,000 square meters in Givat Ram when construction of the complex began, for NIS 190 million. It seems Bayside has become Apple's default choice for real estate in Israel. The company is currently building a new 32-floor tower for Apple in Herzliya Pituah with 45,000 square meters of office space. At the beginning of the decade, Apple expanded its presence in Haifa with a new lease on Bayside's building in Matam Park where Apple leased 28,000 square meters for seven years.
Apple is betting on Israel because of the expertise of local development engineers in the worlds of chips, memory, and depth perception, and employs, among other things, many engineers who previously worked at companies like Intel and Nvidia.
At the same time, the phone and computer giant is considered by employees to be a workplace that requires long hours, strict discipline, and a culture of discretion and secrecy.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 11, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.