CTECH Israel’s Latest Technology and Innovation News
Israeli-made robots are powering the e-commerce revolution. Three companies are making strides in the automated fulfillment landscape, providing a glimpse into the future of retail. Read more
Blackstone hires former LeumiTech CEO Yifat Oron to head new office in Tel Aviv. Oron will lead Blackstone’s growth and tech investments in Israel for Blackstone Growth, which recently raised $4.5 billion. Read more
CTech Meets: Israeli companies disrupting the meat and dairy industries. ChickP, Aleph Farms, and BioMilk all welcomed CTech for a visit into the future of food. Read more
Facebook Israel report: Israeli tech is finally ready to face U.S.
consumers. After long being considered to be more interested in B2B and B2E models, more and more Israeli companies are turning their attention to selling directly to consumers. Read more
The stars have aligned for Israel’s Siklu. Eased regulations, technological maturity, and a market that’s hungry for bandwidth give the wireless fiber connectivity company a chance to shine. Read more
LyteLoop reducing harmful environmental trends by storing data in space. Space tech startup’s high-bandwidth lasers move data in an endless circulating loop, saving on electricity, space, and energy. Read more
Bank Hapoalim to launch new investment track for startups. The bank’s Innovation and Strategy department has already invested in three local
startups: Perception Point, Kyron, and Lightico. Read more
Tech on the Roof | Qualcomm Ventures: When investing, the team is important but the market is critical. Speaking at Calcalist’s Tech on the Roof event, Boaz Peer shares some of the things he looks out for when investing in companies. Watch full interview
Arieli Capital launches OceanTech, a seas and oceans innovation community. The project is in collaboration with Start-Up Nation Central, universities, search institutions, and ecosystem partners. Read more
“Cybersecurity can’t remain voluntary,” says National Cyber Directorate executive. Meital Arik, Head of the Cyber Guidance and Regulation Division at the Israel National Cyber Directorate talks about how combating cyberattacks is an existential need, the lasting effects of the pandemic and the significance of regulation. Read more
HR Post Covid | How do ‘Codefreshers’ settle into the job? At Codefresh, special attention is made to new employees who may be starting their new adventures from home. Read more
Next Israeli astronaut visits NASA Kennedy Space Center ahead of mission. Eytan Stibbe spoke with former NASA astronaut Bob Cabana at Kennedy Space Center in Florida along with other experts led by the Ramon Foundation ahead of January 2022 flight. Read more
Opinion | Don’t be a startup in the “startup business.” You’re a startup. You’ve got a great idea and a working prototype. You need to raise money. You’re perfecting your pitch. You’re mapping investors, attending startup events, applying to accelerators… But you might just be wasting time and killing your company. Here’s why. Read more
Opinion | What is “Employer Branding” really all about? When the process is well thought and carried out in full cooperation with all the relevant stakeholders, management and employees alike, then this question is very much answerable, writes Leora Golomb. Read more
BlackRock leads $100 million investment in Deep Instinct. “We will be doing a series E with BlackRock in nine months and I estimate that our valuation will be of several unicorns by then,” said CEO Guy Caspi. Read more
Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian invests in Israeli podcast platform Riverside.fm. The startup’s platform enables local recording of lossless audio and 4K video tracks independent of internet connection speed. Read more
Real estate data startup Cherre raises $50 million and will open R&D center in Israel. Cherre is the largest real estate knowledge graph in the world, connecting all disparate real estate data into a single source. Read more
Israeli fintech startup Pagaya eyeing Wall Street at $8 billion valuation. Through the first three months of the year, Pagaya registered revenue reflecting $300 million annually, and a profit of $100 million for the year. Read more
AirEye raises $8 million to extend network security in digital airspace. Just like in WW1, once the skies became an area for war it has never been the same. Read more
Analysis | The capital markets are sobering up from the great SPAC binge. The SPAC index has fallen 11% since the start of the year; many SPAC shares have crashed and short positions on them have multiplied; Is Israel’s SPAC gold rush coming to an end? Read more
BigID raises $30 million from Advent at $1.25 billion valuation. The Israeli data intelligence company has raised $250 million in total since September 2019. Read more
Israeli startups that are working toward saving the environment. From detecting water leaks to 3D printing of solar panels, in honor of Earth Day, here are a number of impressive Israeli startups working toward protecting our planet. Read more
Israel’s tech industry suffers from a chronic employee shortage, report warns. Companies are on hiring sprees, but the chronic shortage of skilled high-tech personnel remains. Read more
Eating a 3D-printed burger – technically perfect, but something is missing. CTech was invited to SavorEat to eat a freshly printed 3D burger – here’s what we found. Read more
Insurtech and fintech partnership heading toward TASE offering. The Sure-Tech Partnership has already invested in insurtech companies Vesttoo and GEOX. Read more
Tech on the Roof | Software companies showed “incredible growth and resiliency” during the pandemic, says iAngels Founding Partner.
Speaking at Calcalist’s Tech on the Roof event, Shelly Hod Moyal outlines some of the sectors that have persevered – and thrived – during Covid-19. Watch full interview
Deel raises $156 million, including from Uber CEO. “We will be a $100 billion company. No one at the company wants to sell their shares,” said Israeli co-founder Alex Bouaziz. Read more
RapidAPI raises $60 million to expand leading API marketplace. The investment comes on the heels of a high-growth year for the Israeli company amidst the pandemic that drove a record number of developers and companies to its platform. Read more
Perception Point raises $28 million to grow Prevention-as-a-Service solution. The Israeli startup said it tripled its recurring revenue last year amid increased customer demand for advanced cyber threat protection. Read more
Jeeng raises $5 million to help publishers with audience engagement. The Israeli company’s technology is used by Vice Media, The Atlantic, Vox Media, and others. Read more
Israeli online content distribution company Outbrain closing in on Wall Street IPO. Outbrain was headed to a merger with fellow Israeli content company Taboola last year, but the deal fell through and now both are going public, with Taboola recently announcing a SPAC merger at a $2.6 billion valuation. Read more
Amazon’s AWS and Google big winners of Israel’s $1.2 billion milestone cloud project. AWS and Google beat out Microsoft, Oracle and IBM in the tender for the four-phase project known as “Nimbus”. Read more
EcoEnergy going public at NIS 2 billion valuation. Even though the green energy company doesn’t even have a megawatt connected to the power grid, its experienced founders are attracting plenty of attention. Read more
HR Post Covid | ZoomInfo’s “one team one dream” culture shined bright in the pandemic. Going public during Covid-19 wasn’t easy, but the intelligence platform showed stability and courage to its employees at a time of uncertainty. Read more
Tech on the Roof | Meet Cecilia – the virtual bartender for physical events. At Calcalist’s Tech on the Roof event, CTech met with a robot who pours more than 100 drinks per hour. Read more
Big-Tech 50 CEO: Most Israelis did not have access to join Israeli high tech until now. Speaking at Calcalist’s Tech on the Roof, the CEO of Big-Tech 50 discusses how his fund can help individuals and the public access Israel’s tech system. Read more
CTech’s inside look at Gigantic’s ‘connected reality’ arcade. Blending mobile apps and physical devices, Gigantic is bringing the arcade to our homes. Read more
LinkedIn exec invests in Israel’s Loris.AI to save customer service.
Loris.AI has developed an AI system that helps customer agents provide effective responses, reducing antagonizing chatbots. Read more
Israel’s WalkMe completes acquisition of AI enterprise search company Zest. The acquisition aims to increase the capabilities of WalkMe’s Workstation ahead of the company’s planned IPO later this year. Read more
Israeli startups Orca and Wiz reached unicorn status despite revenue of just a few million dollars. Orca raised $210 million in round C funding at a valuation of $1.2 billion just last month, but U.S. publication The Information has revealed that it only had annual recurring revenue of $4 million at the time. According to the report, Wiz’s latest funding round reflected a times 600 multiplier. Read more
HARMAN and Audioburst bring personalized listening experiences for drivers around the world. HARMAN has 50 million automobiles on the road with its audio and connected car systems. Read more
DataRails raises $18.5 million led by Oren Zeev to expand financial planning solutions. The Israeli startup said it increased its annual recurring revenue fivefold during 2020 after launching its new product for small and medium-sized businesses. Read more
Dr. Iris Ginzburg joins Willa to take empty-nesters shared-living to the next level. Tel Aviv University innovation expert to put theories on community into practice with the demographic that is set to dominate the 21st century. Read more
Fortissimo Capital to invest $20 million in BreezoMeter at $60 million valuation. The private equity firm is leading a $25 million funding round in the Israeli startup that aims to monitor air quality and improve people’s health. Read more
Microsoft to open datacenter region in Israel in early 2022. The new datacenter region will be made up of multiple datacenter facilities with redundant power, cooling, and networking and shows the company plans to provide cloud services for businesses in Israel despite being left off the finalist list in the tender for the country’s flagship cloud project. Read more
Say goodbye to car keys: Israeli startup develops mobile version.
Cobra launches its Mobile-Key technology which enables car door to be opened and closed, motor to be turned on and off, while controlled from a smartphone app. Read more
Tech on the Roof | “Israel’s tech sector beat Covid-19,” says Calcalist publisher. Despite the challenging year to the local and global economy, Israeli tech companies racked up incredible achievements, Yoel Esteron said at the ‘Tech on the Roof’ event hosted by Calcalist and Bank Hapoalim. Read more
Assaf Rappaport: “Israeli tech’s glass ceiling is manpower, not money.” The CEO of cybersecurity company Wiz, who spoke at the ‘Tech on the Roof’ event, also added: “The money is flowing into the country at a pace we can’t sustain. That is why the first thing that we will see is an increase in salaries.” Read more
Opinion | Further U.S. restrictions against business with China and Russia may potentially impact Israeli companies. As the United States continues to take a hard line in its national security approach toward Russia and China, Israeli companies must evaluate whether their products and services trigger U.S. sanctions. Read more
