Israeli companies reported $3.2 billion in capital investment and more than 4,200 new Texas jobs between 2015 and 2024, according to the Texas Governor’s Office, while new initiatives in water, cybersecurity, trade and government investment are expanding the relationship in 2026.
Israeli companies reported investing $3.2 billion in Texas through 34 foreign direct investment projects over the decade from January 2015 through December 2024, according to official data from the Texas Governor’s Office.
The projects were associated with more than 4,200 new jobs, according to the state’s economic profile on Israel.
Senator Ted Cruz highlighted the figures this week, writing that Israeli companies are “betting big on Texas” and pointing to growing cooperation in areas including cybersecurity, defense, water, agriculture and artificial intelligence.
The underlying numbers support the broader picture of a significant economic relationship, although some important context is needed.
The $3.2 billion investment figure represents a decade of reported investment projects, not investment during 2026 or a single year.
Texas and Israel Recorded $4 Billion in Trade
The investment figure should also not be confused with another $3.2 billion number appearing in the same Texas government data.
In 2024, Texas imported approximately $3.2 billion in goods from Israel.
Texas exports to Israel reached another $757.9 million, bringing total trade between Texas and Israel to approximately $4 billion for the year.
The two $3.2 billion figures are unrelated.
One represents Israeli capital investment in Texas accumulated between 2015 and 2024. The other represents goods imported from Israel during 2024 alone.
According to the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, Israel ranks as the 19th-largest foreign source of FDI projects in Texas and 17th for jobs associated with foreign investment.
That means Israel is not one of Texas’s largest foreign investors overall, but its economic role is increasingly concentrated in strategic industries.
Texas Doubles Its Investment in Israel Bonds
The relationship has also expanded beyond private-sector investment.
In February 2026, Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that Texas would double its holdings of Israel bonds from approximately $140 million to $280 million.
According to the Comptroller’s office, it was the largest one-time purchase of Israel bonds in Texas history and made Texas the second-largest U.S. state investor in the securities.
Texas has invested in Israel bonds since 1994.
The bond purchase is separate from the $3.2 billion in private-sector Israeli investment and represents an investment made directly by the State of Texas.
Israeli Water Technology Heads to South Texas
One of the clearest examples of a new Israel-Texas project in 2026 comes from the water sector.
Israel-based IDE Technologies and Houston-based US Desalination announced plans in April for a proposed approximately $1 billion seawater desalination project on South Padre Island.
The joint venture, RGV-Desal, is intended to produce up to 50 million gallons of drinking water per day using seawater from the Gulf of Mexico.
The project could bring Israeli desalination expertise to a region of Texas facing growing pressure on water supplies.
As of the latest available reporting, however, the project remains in development. A land agreement has been reported, but the facility has not been confirmed as under construction or operational.
Israeli Cybersecurity Already Has a Texas Footprint
Cybersecurity provides another more established connection.
Israeli-founded cybersecurity company Portnox announced in 2022 that it was establishing its global headquarters in Austin following a $22 million financing round, while retaining its research and development center in Israel.
Cyberbit has also maintained an Austin presence, while Texas’s broader technology ecosystem has increasingly attracted cybersecurity businesses.
Defense ties are even older.
Elbit Systems of America, the U.S. subsidiary of Israeli defense company Elbit Systems, is headquartered in Fort Worth. Corporate filings also list operations in San Antonio.
Elbit’s Texas presence demonstrates that Israeli involvement in the state’s defense industry predates the current expansion in political and economic cooperation.
Texas Is Building a Permanent Presence in Israel
Texas is also working toward establishing a permanent economic presence in Israel.
During the 2025 legislative session, Texas lawmakers adopted a resolution supporting a Texas Trade and Investment Office in Jerusalem.
The Governor’s Office subsequently issued procurement solicitations to establish and operate the State of Texas Israel Office.
Procurement activity continued into 2026.
Available government documents show that the office is designed to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation between Texas and Israel, although its full operational launch had not been independently confirmed as of August 20.
The move would place Israel alongside a small group of countries where Texas maintains dedicated international economic representation.
The AI and Agriculture Picture Is Less Developed
Cruz also pointed to artificial intelligence and agriculture as areas where the relationship is expanding.
The evidence here is less developed.
Israel and the United States have expanded national cooperation on artificial intelligence and critical technologies, and Israeli-linked cybersecurity companies have operations in Texas. However, no major new Texas-specific Israeli AI capital investment was independently identified in the available research.
The agriculture connection is similarly established historically but difficult to characterize as a new investment wave.
Texas and Israel have cooperated for decades on agricultural research, including drip irrigation and drought-resistant crops through the Texas-Israel Exchange Program and research involving Texas A&M.
However, the available evidence does not show a substantial new Israeli agtech capital investment in Texas during 2025 or 2026.
A Relationship Growing Beyond the Headline Numbers
The $3.2 billion investment figure cited by Cruz is real, but its significance is clearer when the timeframe is included.
It represents 34 reported Israeli investment projects accumulated over a decade, rather than a sudden $3.2 billion influx into Texas.
The more interesting development in 2026 may be what is happening around those numbers.
Texas has doubled its Israel bond holdings, is working to establish a permanent trade office in Jerusalem, and could become home to a major Israeli-linked desalination project.
Cybersecurity and defense companies have already established footholds in the state.
Israel remains a relatively modest source of foreign investment in Texas when measured against the state’s enormous overall economy, but the economic relationship is becoming broader, more institutionalized and increasingly focused on sectors where Israeli technology and Texas industry overlap.
Source links:
- https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/business/Israel-Profile.pdf
- https://comptroller.texas.gov/about/media-center/news/20260212-acting-comptroller-kelly-hancock-doubles-texas-investment-in-israel-bonds
- https://comptroller.texas.gov/about/media-center/news/20231102-texas-comptroller-glenn-hegar-announces-45-million-purchase-in-israel-bonds
- https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HCR90/id/3242256/Texas-2025-HCR90-Enrolled.html
- https://www.rgvbusinessjournal.com/news/23/04/2026/south-padre-island-desal-plant-land-contract/
- https://myrgv.com/local-news/2026/06/25/us-desal-israeli-companies-1b-team-up-may-partially-address-rgvs-water-woes/
- https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3928070,00.html
- https://www.elbitsystems.com/sites/default/files/2026-03/eslt_12.31.2025_20-f_doc_with_exhibits_accessible_17.3.2026.pdf
