Efi Arazi
צילום: שאול גולן
'Father of Israeli high-tech' dies at 76
Efi Arazi, technological giant, founder of Scitex Corporation succumbs to Alzheimer's disease, finds death on birthday
Efi Arazi, an Israeli high-tech industry pioneer and one of the must successful entrepreneurs in the State's history, succumbed to Alzheimer's disease Sunday, on his 76th birthday.
Dubbed "the father of Israeli high-tech," Arazi founded and headed Scitex Corporation in 1968. The firm, which specialized in the development and manufacturing of graphics design appliances, became the first Israeli company to obtain international success.
Arazi was born in 1937 in Jerusalem and studied at the IAF's technological high school. He served in the IDF as a radar operator. He then moved to the US, where he was admitted to the Technological Institute of Massachusetts (MIT) sans matriculation certificate owing to his impressive technological nous.
Efi Arazi (Photo: Yoram Aschheim)
During his stay in the US, he participated in the development of the camera that filmed man's historical landing on the moon, while working in a company that developed film technologies designed for work in outer space.
In 1979, the company launched the first-ever digital pre-press computer and CCD scanner; establishing itself as a world leader in digital print technologies. Its products were imported to more than 40 countries. When Arazi stepped down as the company's CEO in 1990, its annual turnover stood at an astonishing half a billion dollars.
Arazi went on to establish EFI (Electronics for Imaging), a company that was instrumental in promoting the wide availability of digital printing. After selling his shares in the company in 1997, he served as the CEO of the IMedia advertising company.
Arazi was also active in philanthropy and founded the School of Computer Sciences at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
He was survived by his fifth wife and two children from previous marriages.
