LinkedIn is ending its R&D operations in Israel and laying off nearly all of its employees, according to information obtained by Calcalist. A small number of employees are expected to remain temporarily to handle ongoing business activities. The center currently employs about 50 people.
LinkedIn established its research and development center in Israel in February 2022, following the company’s first acquisition in the country, analytics startup Oribi, founded by entrepreneur Iris Shoor, for an estimated $80 million to $90 million. The acquisition and establishment of the Israeli center were led by Tomer Cohen, LinkedIn’s chief product officer.
Although LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, the Israeli operation was established as an independent entity, separate from Microsoft’s own development activities in Israel.
The center, based in Tel Aviv, has focused on technology, engineering and product development. Following the acquisition, Oribi’s technology, which specializes in user-behavior analysis and no-code analytics, was integrated into LinkedIn Marketing Solutions.
The Israeli team has been responsible for developing measurement, attribution and analytics tools that allow advertisers and businesses on LinkedIn to evaluate the performance and return on investment of their advertising campaigns.
In response to a Calcalist inquiry, a LinkedIn spokesperson said: “We’re making these proposed organizational changes to some roles to best position ourselves for future success by focusing our teams and business on the highest impact priorities for our members and customers.”