by endtime on 12/18/10, 7:27 PM
As someone with family in Israel and strong views on the ME conflict, I think this is great news. Anything which supports/encourages the Palestinians making their own lives better and producing stuff which doesn't explode is a good thing for everyone in the region. This sort of thing is how a viable Palestinian state is going to come about, if ever.
by Samuel_Michon on 12/18/10, 8:23 PM
by snowmaker on 12/18/10, 7:52 PM
Is Google in the practice of making these kinds of investments in very early stage tech sectors? What is in this for them?
by cagey on 12/19/10, 12:04 AM
It will be exceedingly interesting to watch the progress/outcome of this investment (if Google chooses to share honestly, something that's clearly optional). The best indication of the actual ROI of this investment will be whether further investments are forthcoming (although Google could pour a few tens of millions USD down a hole and not notice). Anyone know if Google has invested comparable amounts in Lebanon, Syria or Libya?
by VB6_Forever on 12/18/10, 8:34 PM
From the story it seems they are investing €2 million. It doesn't seem like a lot but hopefully it will be just the start
by cool-RR on 12/18/10, 8:02 PM
I wonder, why are they doing this? I mean, the reason tech companies go to Israel is because there's an enormous concentration of talent there. Why would they go to Palestine? I don't think there's any talent there. Is this a humanitarian thing?
I'd be happy to hear first-hand experiences from people who worked with Palestinian developers or with software produced by Palestinian developers.