CTECH – Israel’s Latest Innovation and Technology News July 22, 2022
Bizzabo raising down round led by Insight at significantly lower $200 million valuation. The event planning platform is raising $35 million at a valuation around 30% lower than its Series E in December 2020. Read more
Vimeo slashes workforce by 6%, including in Israel R&D center. The video hosting, sharing, and services platform will be parting ways with around 70 employees in total, including about 10 of its 120 employees in Israel. Read more
“Everyone is talking about profitability, but it’s not possible for a lot of companies.” Daniel Cohen, Managing Partner at Viola Ventures, was speaking during a panel at the Work After Work conference. “The hottest sectors at the moment are supply chains and energy. There is a lot of demand for solutions in this field from companies that need the money,” noted Dina Pasca-Raz, Partner and head of the technology division at KPMG Israel. Read more
“Right now there is no reason for government involvement in the high-tech industry.” This is according to Sapir Ifergan, Communications Coordinator at the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance. According to Adi Gozes, a partner at Entrée Capital: “Diversity does not come at the expense of survival. I think the issue of diversity is deep rooted and begins with education.” Read more
Why did Pagaya shares surge 130% in a single day? The Israeli fintech company lost 85% of its value in less than a month on Nasdaq, but bounced back for reasons that remain unclear on Wednesday. Read more
Virility Medical raises $10 million to treat premature ejaculation. The Israeli company’s method uses an intimate, drug-free, skin patch based on EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) and claims to be far superior to other medical interventions such as medication, which can cause side effects. Read more
Contentsquare eyeing additional Israeli acquisitions after closing $400 million round at $5.6 billion valuation. Three years after acquiring Israeli company Clicktale, the French powerhouse also intends to expand its R&D center in Israel, which already numbers 250 employees. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: A history of the innovators among us. Noam Fraenkel, VP R&D at Carbyne, shares insights after reading “The Innovators” by Walter Isaacson. Read more
CTalk | “Finally, Japanese companies understood that Israel is a legitimate and beneficial innovation hub.” Noa Asher, CEO at NTT Innovation Laboratory Israel, spoke to CTech at Calcalist’s Work After Work event to discuss Israeli and Japanese collaboration. Watch full video
“It is tough to expect that 100% of employees will always be on guard.” Ofer Ben Noon, Co-founder and CEO of Talon, joined CTech to discuss the cybersecurity risks brought on by a hybrid world. Watch full video
Zencity cuts 20% of workforce. The Israeli startup, which provides community insights and an analytics platform for state and local governments, will be parting ways with around 30 employees. Read more
Kornit Digital laying off dozens of employees after share price crashes. The Israel-based maker of industrial inkjet printers for the garment industry has seen its stock fall by over 80% since the start of the year. Read more
Battery Ventures closes $3.8 billion in new funds, appoints new Israeli partner. Shiran Shalev, who is based in Tel Aviv and was promoted to partner, joined Battery in 2013 and focuses on venture- and growth-stage investments in financial technology and business software. Read more
“A crisis doesn’t just mean cutbacks, but also opportunities for acquisitions at attractive prices.” Natalie Refuah, General Partner at Viola Growth, was speaking at a panel focused on growth in the new reality. “It wasn’t long ago that companies had to throw parties in Mauritius to attract developers, but today you can bring in excellent people at far more realistic prices,” noted Ariel Assaraf, CEO of Coralogix. Read more
Dot Compliance raises $23 million Series B for life science quality and compliance platform. The Israeli startup’s solutions include an extensive set of off-the-shelf ready quality and compliance best practice processes that enable life-sciences organizations to deliver life-saving, innovative products faster, safer, and more efficiently. Read more
Life sciences VC aMoon raises $340 million for second fund. aMoon Growth II will focus on later-stage investments and will support entrepreneurs and scientists developing solutions combining biology with AI, Big Data, and other advanced technologies. Read more
CTalk | “Technology modernizes and democratizes the fintech industry.” Meirav Har-Noy, Founder and Managing Partner at Moneta VC, spoke to CTech about industries that are ripe for innovation, such as payments, wealth management, and embedded finance. Watch full interview
Israeli communication style “is a bit difficult to address for the Japanese community.” Kazu Kimura, Manager of the Japanese Practice at KPMG Israel, spoke to CTech about some of the cultural challenges between the two countries. Watch full interview
“Central Banks will go all the way, it will be challenging to prevent a hard landing.” First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, expects further deterioration in global growth and fears that the financial data is reminiscent of the 2008 crisis. In an exclusive interview with Calcalist, she says: “Inflation has become the biggest problem in the world, and the rise in interest rates to contain it have come faster than expected.” Read more
“All companies collect data, but few also analyze it.” Mor Lankry Eldar, Startups Industry Manager at Google, was speaking during a panel held as part of Google and Calcalist’s Startup Week. “Working in high-tech is like an emotional roller-coaster, and in order to deal with the ups and downs you need to regulate your emotions,” explained Noa Matz, Operating Partner at F2 Venture Capital. Read more
Miami Mayor: “Crypto was our slingshot against the Silicon Valley Goliath.” Mayor Suarez joined Jacob Helberg and Aleph General Partner Michael Eisenberg for a talk at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Read more
“Children should acquire social skills through the use of computer games.” Head of the Master’s Degree in Digital Game Design and Development at Shenkar College, Dr. Vered Pnueli, speaks of how the graduates of the program have begun designing computer games with Israeli characteristics and explains why the college’s gaming incubator did not last long. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Remembering Leonard Cohen’s trip to Israel. Jonny Steel, VP Marketing at Payoneer, shares insights after reading “Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai” by Matti Friedman. Read more
Opinion | The tech fields that are immune even from a global crisis. “At the end of the day we should remember that for investors the best time to invest is now. Entrepreneurs are begging for money, multipliers have gone down and it’s time to go in and invest,” writes Alon Pinhas. Read more
Unicorn Lusha lets go of 10% of employees. The Israeli company will be parting ways with 30 employees eight months after raising $205 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. Read more
3D printing company Nano Dimension acquires 12% of Stratasys, raising prospects of hostile takeover. Nano Dimension raised nearly $1.5 billion in a series of public offerings on Wall Street in late 2020 and early 2021, but currently only has a market cap of $850 million. Read more
ForSight Robotics raises $55 million Series A led by Adani Group for ophthalmic robotic surgery. The Israeli startup is developing ORYOM, a hybrid intraocular robotic ophthalmic platform, to advance ophthalmic surgery to treat a wide range of conditions including cataract, glaucoma, and other retinal diseases. Read more
Quantum Machines to establish Israeli quantum computing center in $30 million deal. The Israel Innovation Authority has chosen the Israeli startup, in collaboration with Classiq, to establish the center which will allow researchers to conduct R&D on a universal quantum computer. Read more
Ordering and shipping platform HAAT expands app for Palestinian territories. The app, which is optimized for low-infrastructure regions, is already operational in periphery towns in Israel. Read more
JFrog launches new DevOps innovation program for early-stage companies. The new program is seeking early-stage startups that have raised up to $1 million in funding, have 10 employees or less, and is designed to offer mentoring, design partnerships, and funds for emerging cybersecurity, IoT, and non-profit organizations. Read more
Opinion | Twitter-Musk saga provides lessons for any strategic transaction. “Companies should pay attention to the level of completeness of due diligence upon signing of strategic transaction agreements, and it should be defined as accurately as possible. Documented due diligence process and clarity as to missing details is crucial to address prior to signing or in the contract,” writes Oded Kadosh of Pearl Cohen law firm. Read more
Berkshire Partners to pay over $215 million to acquire 49% of Israeli data center platform MedOne. MedOne operates over 25,000 square meters of data center capacity across four underground sites in Israel. Read more
How much is a gateway to the West worth to India’s Adani? The Indian Adani Group and the Israeli Gadot Group won a tender to privatize the port of Haifa by offering almost $1.2 billion, around $420 million more than the second-highest bid. Adani, owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, owns 13 terminals and ports worldwide, and the port of Haifa will serve as a gateway to the Middle East and Europe. Read more
OneLayer set to secure private 5G networks at two Israeli hospitals. The Israeli company has teamed up with Nokia and Cellcom to secure hundreds of doctor carts, beds, and medical devices connected via cellular networks. Read more
Playermaker helps sporty teenagers tap into tech during soccer games. The Israeli startup’s devices can track movement and pressure on the feet allowing players and coaches to easily learn and adapt their strategies via an app. Read more
“With rising ego came a rising value, and soon ‘hype’ became the essence of everything in high-tech.” Ariel Maislos, the entrepreneur who sold Anobit to Apple for $400 million in 2012, was speaking at “The New Normal in the High-Tech Landscape” conference held at Ibex Investors’ offices. Read more
Game on: Israeli sportstech startups taking center stage at the Maccabiah. The Maccabiah Games, popularly known as “the Jewish Olympics”, will showcase not just top athletes, but also the best in Israeli sports technologies. Read more
Opinion | Can AI be a valuable asset in the area of healthcare provisioning? Employing artificial intelligence to assess embryos to avoid civil and criminal prosecution could be what pushes AI in healthcare into the mainstream. Read more
The growing importance of Customer Success as a company mindset. “The experience a company offers is de-facto a differentiator that relies on the alignment of different units within the company to plan, execute and evaluate their performance in making customers successful,” writes Guy Galon. Read more
