"We Will Change the World": She Gave Up a Promising Career at the Treasury and Climbed to the Management of the Jerusalem AI Company

Shani Mandel Laufer left a promising career at the Budget Division of the Treasury and joined Lightricks in 2022. Now, with the split into LTX, she has been appointed Chief Business Officer and leads the company's business strategy, including negotiations with Hollywood studios. She talks about the transition, her mentor Shaul Meridor, and the vision of Physical AI and world models.

Shani Mandel Laufer (35) grew up in Givat Shmuel, studied law and economics at the Hebrew University, and began her career as a research assistant to former Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug. From there, she moved to the Budget Division of the Treasury, where she served as a housing referent and energy coordinator, and was a partner in reforms in the electricity and gas sectors. Four years ago, she left the public sector and joined Lightricks, then a company focused on photo and video editing apps. With the outbreak of the generative AI revolution, the company changed direction, and now it is splitting into two companies: one for creative products, and the other, LTX, which will focus on generative models and the vision of Physical AI. Mandel Laufer has been appointed Chief Business Officer of LTX, and she leads the business strategy, including negotiations with Hollywood studios and big-tech platforms. She talks about her mentor Shaul Meridor, who offered her to join the company, and her decision to start from the bottom. She emphasizes the importance of partnership with her partner, and pride in a company founded in Jerusalem. She believes that world models are the next stage of the AI revolution, and that the economic potential in Physical AI will be greater than in language models.