Ori Knafo is a freshman student for entrepreneurship and business management at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.

Ori was born just outside Israel’s capital, in Ma’ale Adumim, where he was raised until age 5, when he and his family moved to the west bank settlement of Efrat. There Ori went to school while also being a leader in the youth movement Etgarim (meaning challenges). After completing high school, Ori was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 2012 to an elite brigade of the paratroopers, where climbed the ranks and eventually commanded his own company. Today he serves as a platoon commander in the IDF reserves.

After being released from the army in 2017, Ori began working as a project manager in a furniture company but left the position to start his own company: Target Defense Solution (TDS). TDS designed and developed a revolutionary product for managing a firing range using image recognition and deep learning to provide accuracy statistics and all necessary management functionality. After finishing their prototype, TDS is now in its first round of funding with investors. They are currently in talks to create partnerships with multiple homeland security companies.

When Ori is not working, he enjoys spending times with his friends. He loves hiking and surfing on Israel’s beaches.