CTECH – Israel’s Latest Technology and Innovation News
Israeli judge accuses Twitter of sexism, orders it to pay expenses in sexual harassment case. Twitter’s lawyers attacked journalist Linoy Bar Gefen’s alleged past sexual conduct while mounting its defense after she sued the company for keeping up an offensive post. Read more
Hoops Highlights: Pixellot and Israeli Basketball Association enter partnership for automated video clip production. The deal will include automated game and highlight production, and analytics tools, for two different leagues. Read more
Forced to fly? Covid-19 transformed business trips from a dream into a nightmare. Israeli tech companies are being accused of threatening to lay off employees who refused to travel due to health fears. Read more
Covid-19 ushered in fintech’s golden era. The changes brought to the industry by the pandemic were at the center of the Google and Calcalist Startup Week panel. Read more
JVP founder launches Margalit Startup City as Israel prepares for second lockdown. Speaking to CTech ahead of the launch, Erel Margalit urges Israel to follow the European, not American pandemic exit strategy. Read more
Tech@Work | Employee safety and well-being is our top priority, says SAP’s Head of HR. Moran Melamoud continues our Tech@Work series on how the sector tackles employee care and an ever-changing office culture during Covid-19. Read more
Start-Up Nation Central: Tech is the engine that will pull the Israeli economy out of the Covid-19 crisis. A new report by the Tel Aviv-based non-profit asserts that Israel can go beyond its role as ‘Startup Nation’ and become a world leader in providing digital solutions for the health, education, and welfare of its citizens and eventually – the world. Read more
Israel’s JFrog targeting $475 million at $4 billion valuation in Nasdaq IPO. The DevOps technology company increased the range of the 11.6 million shares on offer to $39 to $41 from a prior $33 to $37. Read more
odix launches FileWall, protection for Microsoft 365 Mail attachments. The new solution will work alongside existing security solutions and is available on Microsoft AppSource. Read more
Remote healthcare ready to seize tectonic Covid-19 moment. “We are experiencing extreme acceleration and as an industry, we are reaching a moment of natural selection,” said Jonathan Adiri, co-founder and CEO of Healthy.io, during Google and Calcalist’s Startup Week. Read more
Round B | Choosing a co-founder is like choosing a life partner. The most significant decision in a company’s life is made right at the very beginning: who, if anyone at all, do you start this complex journey with, writes Shaul Olmert. Read more
Down-rounds went up in Israel during first half of 2020, survey shows. A new survey by law firms Shibolet and Fenwick & West shows first signs of the Covid-19 crisis’ impact on the tech industry. Read more
Opinion | Silicon Valley is hot for virtual healthcare. Covid-19 made telemedicine a reality and everyone is looking to invest in the now scorching sector. Read more
The eccentric billionaire has made some grandiose statements regarding the possible uses of his brain-computer-interface product, yet, the scientific community remains unimpressed. Read more
Mind over Matter: The man who turned himself into a cyborg to overcome ALS. After Peter Scott-Morgan was given a year to live, he decided to fight his fate and employed cutting edge technology to stay alive and remain human. Read more
DiplomaTech | Despite unrest, Hong Kong remains open for Israeli business. Israel’s economic attaché to the global financial hub breaks down the immense trade potential. Read more
The Peres Center is on a mission for peace – and it’s using tech collaboration to drive it. The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation frequently partners with Palestinian entities to help foster their tech ecosystem – but its participation must remain in the shadows. Read moreTeva is recruiting Israeli academia to help produce its next breakthrough drug. You reap what you sow: The pharmaceutical giant is partnering up with researchers to try and find the next Copaxone. Read more
Israel’s Inthegame invites television viewers to play along with the sports pros from home. Its technology can provide interactive polls, quizzes, and marketplaces for live and pre-recorded content on digital platforms. Read more
Unemployment will rise due to planned holiday lockdown, Israeli government entities warn. As the number of active cases of Covid-19 in Israel continues to rise, the government plans to vote on further limitations for the Jewish High Holidays that would see many businesses forced to shut down, again. Read more
Intel studies disabled gamers to help make future products more accessible. As Intel pivots from chip-making to more consumer-facing technology, two researchers zoom in on a niche, but revealing community. Read more
Public transit fare payment apps to start operating in Israel in Q3 2020. The mobile payment option was originally scheduled to start operating in June, but its launch was delayed due to privacy concerns raised by Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority and the Israeli transportation minister. Read more
All innovation should be brought under one government ministry, urges science and technology minister. Former entrepreneur and tech investor called on the government to invest in the creation of a civilian space industry during Google and Calcalist’s Startup Week. Read more
After 2020 this will no longer be an exchange of real estate and finance companies, but of technology firms,” says Guy Preminger, an assurance partner and technology leader at PwC Israel. Read more
Red Dot Capital Partners leads $35 million investment in rebranded Israeli startup EverC. EverC, formerly EverCompliant, operates in the cybersecurity sector, focusing on the prevention of online money laundering. Read more
“Most of Israel’s successful startups aren’t doing business in China.”
The U.S.-China trade war and its effects on Israel’s tech sector were at the center of an online conference organized by the Israeli Go Global Forum. Read more
Tower announces ‘all systems go’ following a disruptive ransom cyberattack. Due to the manufacturing disruption, the company expects some level of impact on its third-quarter results. Read moreIsraeli-American automated payroll platform Deel raises $30 million.
“We’re challenging the notion that companies need to hire within their vicinity,” says CEO. Read more
Israel’s aMoon leads funding rounds in U.S. and European companies.
The healthtech VC led a $35 million round in MOBILion and a $30 million round in MiNA Therapeutics. Read more
Taboola CEO explains why the merger with Outbrain failed: “The original deal does not make sense anymore.” Adam Singolda published a blog post in which he laid out the reasons that the deal between the Israeli content distribution giants fell apart. Read more
Mystery Meat: MeaTech to acquire unnamed company that manufactures synthetic animal fat. Israel-based MeaTech is set to pay $17.5 million for the target company’s technology, management expected to remain in place for two years after the signing. Read more
To achieve its mission of transforming the note-taking world, Verbit wants to become the “Uber of transcription.” The transcription service can be used in a variety of verticles such as education, healthcare, and media. Read more
Israeli female role models launch Inspira, a new network for entrepreneurial women. Its podcast and social media network is designed for gendered languages, such as Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish. Read more
Recalculating Route: Waze says it will lay off 5% of its global workforce. In an email to employees, CEO Noam Bardin says the Google-owned company is rethinking its priorities amid the Covid-19 crisis. Read more
Siemplify partners with Check Point Software for better incident response times. The partnership will enhance and accelerate the orchestration, automation, and response in security operation centers. Read more
Interview | How Israelis can tame the Chinese lion: “It’s all a game of interests.” Carice Witte, founder of the SIGNAL think tank, offers a frank assessment of Israel-China relations and advice on how to turn dangers to advantages. Read more
Israeli-British cybersecurity startup Snyk raises $200 million at a
$2.6 billion valuation. The company states that it has experienced an extraordinary year of momentum thus far, including more than 275% revenue growth and 100% employee growth. Read more
Insight Partners leads $25 million series B round in automated penetration-testing company Pcysys. “Instead of just telling you that your home can be broken into through the roof, we attempt to actually slide down your chimney,” said Pcysys CEO. Read more
Messi collaborates with Israel’s OrCam to increase awareness for the blind and visually impaired. OrCam will arrange meetings between dozens of visually impaired people from around the world with the soccer superstar and he will gift them the OrCam MyEye. Read more
Taboola-Outbrain merger called off. Deal falls through after Taboola requested to make it a stock-for-stock merger instead of paying Outbrain shareholders $250 million for a 70% stake. Read more
“A small step on a long journey” Israeli fintech company Salaryo sees first-ever UAE investment. “It took us a long time to complete the deal due to concerns over transferring funds from Dubai to Israel,” said Salaryo CEO Yair Levy. Read more
Israeli Techstars grad wants online accessibility to move beyond lip service. Speaking to CTech, SenseIT CEO Tamar Shapira says mere compliance is not enough, companies are missing out on millions. Read more
Israel’s Jifiti signs strategic partnership agreement with Mastercard.
The fintech company developed a technology to enable point of sale financing, allowing banks and retailers to offer immediate credit by using Mastercard. Read more
Interview | When VCs claimed they couldn’t find female investors, these finance industry veterans started their own club. Orit Alperovitz and Inbal Polak were sick of being the only women in the room, so, they started a women-only investor club and are hoping to change the industry, one investment at a time. Read more
We miss the value of a routine, admits CYMOTIVE Technologies’ HR Manager. CYMOTIVE’s Head of HR Avital Menaged continues CTech’s series about some of the ways the HR industry is expected to change post-Covid-19. Read more
There is never a bad time to start a venture, says serial entrepreneur. Talmon Marco, who previously founded Viber and Juno and now heads hydrogen fuel company H2Pro, spoke Wednesday at Calcalist and ESIL Technologies’ Sustainability and Innovation Week. Watch full interview
Apollo Power’s flexible solar panels provide cheap electricity anywhere the sun shines, says CEO Oded Rozenberg. “The solar world has proven in recent years that it can compete with oil and natural gas,” Rozenberg said. Watch full interview
Preparing for a new world of renewable energies. CEO of Israeli oil refining and petrochemicals company Bazan said it is ready to adopt innovation. Watch full panel
Israel to establish a national laboratory to study Covid-19 and future life-threatening viruses. The new lab, based out of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, will enable researchers to study live samples of viruses and find ways to kill them. Read more
Italian biotech company DiaSorin to offer MeMed’s blood tests in Europe and USA. Haifa-based MeMed develops blood testing technology capable of diagnosing whether an infection is bacterial or viral, based on the presence of specific proteins in the blood. Read more
Techstars Israel’s Demo Day 2020 highlights future of startups in a
post-Covid-19 world. Coming off a 13-week course, 10 startups from Israel and Denmark celebrate their successes in a physical location. Read more
Meet Shaul Olmert’s new startup – Flying Pigs. Eight years after launching Playbuzz, Shaul Olmert is embarking on a new journey, with a new startup. In a personal column, he shares his reasons for leaving and why he gave his company such a bizarre name. Read moreClimate change pushed to the forefront by Covid-19. “Covid-19 has directed corporations towards being more prepared for climate change, and that means coming up with the climate tech solutions that we need,” says Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Lab. Watch full interview
Sustainability and technology: The environmental crisis as an opportunity for impact investments. On Day 3 of Calcalist and ESIL’s “Sustainability and Innovation Week” experts discuss opportunities for green investments. Watch interviews
Scaring people about Covid-19 or climate change will not do the trick, says Israeli futurist. Future studies researcher Roey Tzezana spoke Tuesday at Calcalist’s online conference on sustainability and innovation. Watch full interview
RYUK virus running riot as it strikes down another victim in Tower. It is believed that Tower wasn’t the only Israeli company that came under attack by the virus over the past weekend. Read more
Covid-19 is a global wake up call and a preview to an international environmental crisis. Israeli and international investors discuss opportunities posed by environmental challenges. Watch full panel
Covid-19 cutbacks? No one told the software industry, salaries see a boost despite the pandemic. Tech job recruiting company See.V reveals which professions saw the highest salary bumps and suggests the balance of power still leans in employees’ favor. Read more
Labor Day with no labor: 10 jobs that are going extinct due to tech innovation. While technological advancements can make our lives better, it’s putting some workers at risk – let’s take a look at who might be saying goodbye to their jobs in the future. Read more
Tower to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to hackers who paralyzed its manufacturing. The Israeli semiconductor company’s insurance firm will cover the costs for the ransomware attack. Read more
IAI introduces ‘MultiFlyer’, its new fleet of non-military helicopter drones. Multiflyer can help with disaster management, first responders, and the monitoring of large events. Read more
Office space market crunch forces construction companies to get creative. Israeli construction firms Reit 1 and Saan Zahav are investing $32 million in converting a basement in a Ra’anana tower into a server farm following Amdocs departure. Read more
Israeli tech companies sell too soon, says Koch Industries exec. Eli Groner, the managing director in Israel of Koch Industries’ investment arm Koch Disruptive Technologies, believes there could be more giant companies in Israel, if only they were given the chance to grow. Read more
Thanks to its autotech prowess, Israel accepted to global car-makers club. Despite the country not having any passenger vehicle manufacturers, Israel was invited by virtue of its advanced autotech industry. Read more
Sustainability and technology: experts weigh in on business opportunities for multinationals and startups. On Day 2 of Calcalist and ESIL’s “Sustainability and Innovation Week” experts discuss the ways technology is being used to better protect the environment. Read more
Bosch, Electra to set up HVAC manufacturing facility in Israel. The companies will invest a total sum of $29.6 million in the facility that will employ 300 people in southern Israeli town Ashkelon. Read more
Johnson Matthey promoting environmental protection and sustainability via Israeli innovation. “We hope that Israel creates such a vibrant development community that we will develop more and more technologies that we can deploy all around the world,” said Maurits van Tol, Chief Technology Officer at Johnson Matthey. Read more
Israel lacks land to facilitate its renewable energy goals, says Siemens Israel GM. Ariel Porat, the general manager of Siemens Israel, spoke Monday at a panel hosted by Calcalist reporter Hagar Ravet as part of Calcalist’s online conference on sustainability and innovation. Read more
“Electricity from solar power has become so cheap, no other sources can even compete.” EDF Renewables Israel CEO Ayalon Vaniche talks about the latest developments in the scorching industry. Read more
