Photo: Omer Tal (עומר טל), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons¹⁵

Eyal Waldman

Israeli businessman

Eyal Waldman (Hebrew: איל וולדמן) is an Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and peace activist. In 1999, he co-founded chip maker Mellanox Technologies, which was sold to Nvidia for US$6.9 billion in 2019.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Eyal Waldman (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born 1960.¹

About

Waldman received the Israel Prize, Israel's highest civilian honor, in 2024.

From Wikipedia’s article on Eyal Waldman, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Iron Dome Acquisition I Corp.Board member May 14, 2026 to now¹⁰
Mellanox TechnologiesFounder¹¹
Mellanox TechnologiesPresident Mar 4, 2013 to Apr 27, 2020¹²
Mellanox TechnologiesBoard member Aug 14, 2007 to Apr 27, 2020¹³
Mellanox TechnologiesChief executive officer Feb 7, 2007 to Apr 27, 2020¹⁴
Mellanox TechnologiesChair Feb 7, 2007 to Jun 3, 2013¹⁴

Early life and education

Date not recordedTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology³

Career

Occupation: businessperson.⁵

Date not recordedFounded Mellanox Technologies⁴

Personal life

Born1960, Jerusalem⁶
CitizenshipIsrael⁷
Children3⁸

Politics

Waldman supports the two state solution. After the 7 October attacks, he stated that, "I hope in two to four years we'll be able to do peace and build two states for the two people and be able to live together next to each other."

Waldman is among a group of Israeli businessmen who are part of Breaking the Impasse, a forum of Israelis and Palestinians in favor of advancing a diplomatic solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

At Mellanox, Waldman hired 200 engineers, including 20 in the Gaza Strip and 80 in the West Bank town of Rawabi, in a belief that Israeli and Palestinians working together would lead to peace.

Waldman opened a design center in Gaza and donated US$360,000 to an oncology ward at a hospital in Gaza in 2020. He also created jobs for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Waldman and fellow Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Shay launched project Next October in December 2023, pledging to help create 1,200 next startups in honor of the victims of the October 7 attacks, with each startup bearing the name of someone who was killed. Around 150 companies, including Meta, OurCrowd, and Pitango, were confirmed as partners.

In 2024, Waldman was announced as a recipient of the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian honor. Education Minister Yoav Kisch had previously requested that the prize committee not award the honor to Waldman due to his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the 2023 Israeli judicial reform.