Apple's Tim Cook pledges more growth in Israel during meeting with Israeli president

Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with Israeli president Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem. | Via the Wall Street Journal

A meeting this week between Apple chief executive Tim Cook and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin reportedly included assurances from Cook that the company intends to continue growing its operations in the region, a large part of which are focused on chip design.

"We've hired our first individual in Israel in 2011 and we now have over 700 people working in Israel directly for us," Cook said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Israel and Apple have gotten much closer together over the last three years than ever before, and we see that as just the beginning."

The balance of Cook's conversation with Rivlin remains unknown, but it is likely to have revolved around economic development.

The new research facility in Herzlyia is Apple's second in Israel, joining an existing outpost in Haifa. The 700 employees manning those offices were largely boosted by the acquisitions of Israeli startups Anobit and PrimeSense, as well as the hiring of numerous former Texas Instruments chip designers after that firm shuttered its Israeli operations.

Apple is one of hundreds of western technology companies with research facilities in Israel, as the nation churns out an impressive array of technological advances. A focus on scientific education and massive investments in technology by the government and the Israeli Defense Force have led to a surplus of engineering talent that rivals that found in Silicon Valley.