The BIRD Foundation (Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development) is a joint initiative established by the U.S. and Israeli governments in 1977, with the goal of promoting and supporting industrial research and development (R&D) activities that are of mutual benefit to both nations.

The scope of BIRD’s activities encompasses various technology sectors, including agriculture, communications, construction technologies, electronics, electro-optics, life sciences, software, homeland security, renewable and alternative energy, among others. The Foundation supports approximately 20 projects annually.

The BIRD Foundation operates on a risk-sharing basis with each company, one U.S.-based and one Israel-based, demonstrating the capability and infrastructure to define, develop, manufacture, sell, and support an innovative product based on R&D.

The Foundation provides conditional grants for joint development projects and requests repayment on the basis of actual revenues generated.

The Foundation provides matchmaking support between U.S. and Israeli companies, as well as funding for up to 50% of project development costs, with a maximum allocation of US$1 million per project and in rare cases up to US$1.5 million for exceptional projects. The grants are subject to re-payment when commercial revenues are generated from the developed products.

BIRD grants could be divided by the project size:
–  Full-scale projects, defined as projects with a total development cost of at least US$400,000
–  Mini-projects, with a budget limit of US$400,000