CTECH: Israel’s Latest Innovation and Technology News April 13, 2022
OpenWeb acquiring advertising platform ADYOULIKE for $100 million. ADYOULIKE was launched in Paris in 2011 and works with over 4,000 brands, agencies, and publishers including The Guardian, Reach, Prisma Media, and Groupe Marie-Claire. Read more
Silverfort raises $65 million Series C for identity threat protection platform. The Israeli startup enables secure authentication and access in a unified manner across all corporate resources, both on-premises
and in the cloud, to detect and stop identity-based attacks. Read more
RiseUp closes $30 million Series B to help customers control expenses. The Israeli company offers a technology-based solution that helps customers control their expenses and save money, through a combination
of advanced technology, expert consulting, and community support. Read more
Optibus acquiring transportation passenger platform Trillium. Trillium helps improve passenger communication, allowing to publish schedule and real-time service data in a format consumable by apps including Google Maps and Apple Maps. Read more
Noogata closes $16 million Series A for AI analytics platform. The Israeli startup’s no-code artificial intelligence (AI) platform is built for business users who need to turn their data into actionable insights quickly and easily. Read more
Mobileye autonomous taxi service on course for Israel launch this year. The company has recorded a 40-minute video that includes its vehicle completing real-world driving maneuvers at night-time in Jerusalem. Read more
Israeli defense exports reach record high of $11.3 billion in 2021. After a 33% leap in Israeli arms sales over the past year, the Ministry of Defense is expecting an additional rise once Europe takes up arms due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read more
Shufersal to use Via technology to manage the distribution of goods. Israel’s largest supermarket chain will implement Via’s software platform to enable more efficient and accurate transport of goods from the chain’s distribution centers to more than 300 branches throughout the country. Read more
Cybersecurity startup founded by Unit 8200 Commander raises $23 million Seed round. Sentra was co-founded by Asaf Kochan, the Commander of Unit 8200 until last February, Ron Reiter, co-founder of startup Crosswise which was sold to Oracle for $50 million, Yoav Regev, who headed Unit 8200’s Cyber Department under Kochan, and Yair Cohan, a Senior Product Manager at Datadog. Read more
Senior EU officials were targeted with Israeli spyware. The officials are believed to have been hacked by ForcedEntry, an advanced piece of software that was used by Israeli cyber surveillance vendor NSO Group to help foreign spy agencies remotely and invisibly take control of iPhones. A smaller Israeli spyware vendor named QuaDream has also sold a nearly identical tool to government clients. Read more
Opinion | How flexibility and development opportunities can help companies counter the Great Resignation. “In this all-digital world, with the right leadership, training, and technology, companies can create a more meaningful workplace to better attract, retain and nurture talent, from anywhere,” writes Nili Gur of Salesforce. Read more
Appointments | Google Cloud appoints Ariel Salpeter as Enterprise Commercial lead in Israel. Salpeter joined Google Cloud after two years at Microsoft, and will oversee the group’s services in Israel after winning the Nimbus tender. Read more
OurCrowd appoints Eli Rata as Chief Architect and Vice President. Rata, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia, will take the helm of the 50-member team, which supports over 200,000 investors. Read more
Lumigo boosts executive team with appointments of Michael Davis and Orr Weinstein. Davis and Weinstein join the company as its new VP of Sales and VP of Product, respectively. Read more
Israel’s field hospital in Ukraine using VR to treat refugees. The staff of Israeli field hospital “Kohav Meir” visited a refugee camp for Ukrainians displaced from their homes equipped with advanced VR goggles, and telehealth devices to diagnose patients remotely. Read more
She codes organization reaches 45 branches following latest launch at Kaltura. The largest tech community for women in Israel teaches coding to 50,000 women across the country. Read more
Spotlight | Testing 1,2,3: Speak makes language proficiency as easy as A,B,C. Frustrated that his English was not up to par when he entered the high tech world after his IDF service, Eitan Noiman co-founded “Speak”, simplifying English language proficiency testing for all. Read more
Israeli tech trailblazer Yoel Gat passes away at 69. Gat, who served until recently as the CEO of SatixFy, has a 35-year history in the satellite sector, founding and growing prior successful companies such as Gilat Satellite Network and RaySat. Read more
RADA’s tactical radars are keeping forces safe from aerial threats. The defense company’s active-detection radar can discern UAVs, mortars, and other small threats. “Soon NATO forces will need our solution too,” says CEO Dubi Sella. Read more
Opinion | Morocco’s challenge is Israeli tech’s opportunity. How can Israel’s high-tech industry become a paramount geopolitical player in Africa? Read more
Appointment | CHEQ appoints Limor Gershoni Levy as Chief Legal Officer. Gershoni Levy is joining from fellow Israeli unicorn Cato Networks where she served as General Counsel over the past four years. Read more
Hadar Siterman Norris, former senior executive at Mastercard, joins Team8 as Partner. Team8 Capital revealed that it has raised $160 million to date and invested in 12 companies currently valued at approximately $3 billion. Read more
Liron Wand and Jonathan Glazer join Pitango as Venture Partners. Wand, formerly at Google and Facebook, joins Pitango Growth’s team, and Glazer, the former Head of the Ambulatory Care Service in Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Emergency Department, joins the Healthtech team. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: The four steps to building “habit-forming products.” Asaf Ronat, VP of Product at Pixellot, has joined CTech to share a review of “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products” by Nir Eyal. Read more
Viz.ai raises $100 million at $1.2 billion valuation to become Israel’s newest unicorn. The Israeli startup develops an AI-powered disease detection and care coordination platform which is already in use in over 1,000 hospitals, serving millions of patients. Read more
Viral Israeli artists entering NFT space with ‘xoxo’. Maya and Yehuda Devir have amassed a following of millions with their “One of Those Days” series. Now they’re taking their work to the blockchain. Read more
Pagaya reaches $475 million in annual revenue, on course to go public in Q2 at $8.5 billion valuation. The Israeli fintech company announced that it registered growth of 379% year-on-year and that it has filed
its registration statement with the SEC as its closes on its SPAC merger with EJF Acquisition Corp. Read more
Online business school Jolt shaken up after exit deal falls through, founders leave, 40% of staff fired. The company plans to lay off 20 of its 50 employees and its founders and CEO are leaving after a plan to be acquired by an international company faltered at the finish line. Read more
Appointments | Ermetic names Liat Dvir as Chief People Strategy Officer. The human resources executive joins the fast-growing cloud infrastructure security company. Read more
Opinion | The dangers of politicizing space. “This disconcerting emerging breakdown in space is unprecedented. Even at the height of the Cold War, an American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz counterpart, culminating in an historical handshake in space in July 1975 between representatives of two warring nations,” writes Dov Greenbaum. Read more
Cybersecurity company Tufin acquired by Turn/River Capital for $570 million. The deal represents a premium of approximately 44% over Tufin’s latest closing share price on the NYSE. Read more
Passions, theft and a $31 million lawsuit: What happens when a client drains a company of its 126 employees. Jerusalem-based Brix Software seemed to have a prosperous partnership with New Jersey-based Cross River Bank, that was until a zoom call last December in which the bank’s founder convinced all of Brix’s employees to join his company instead. Read more
Eternity’s commemoration platform swaps gravestones for QR codes. The Israeli company is digitizing the way we commemorate loved ones once they pass on. Read more
Group 11 strikes $50 million deal with StepStone Group for third fund holdings. Dovi Frances’ fintech VC is selling 27% of its third fund which includes unicorns Tipalti, TripActions, Next Insurance, HomeLight, and Sunbit. Read more
The Israeli company developing the eyes behind suicide drones. NextVision Stabilized Systems’ cameras enable drones to monitor areas like never before, and hone in and attack targets, when needed. Read more
SeeMetrics leaves stealth, raises $6 million for its automated cyber performance platform. The Israeli startup integrates every organization-specific security data, metric, and objective into a custom interface for CISOs. Read more
The digital health revolution: PlayBeyondBio’s startup cohort comes to a close. The program, led by AstraZeneca, the JVP venture capital fund, the international consulting firm Accenture, Margalit Startup City, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, lasted for six months and included eight startups. Read more
