CTECH: Israel’s Latest Technology and Innovation News
Innovating for the largest brewery in the world: Israel’s WeissBeerger serving millions of customers under the radar. WeissBeerger became the big data, analytics, and innovation arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev after being acquired in 2018 and is helping lead the development of its BEES B2B digital ordering platform. Read more
Ready to Rumble? Israeli health app pays you for your steps. With Rumble, every step can be converted into tokens with purchasing power in real stores and communities. Read more
Microsoft announces second cycle of AI For Good Accelerator Program. 15 AI companies have been selected across the fields of health, sustainability, and accessibility. Read more
Road2 established as new innovation hub in Haifa for AI-based entrepreneurship. The hub was established through a collaboration between MATI Haifa, NVIDIA, and the Israel Innovation Authority. Read more
Trigo partners with REWE Group to provide grab-and-go shopping experience. Shoppers will be able to walk into a store, select their items, and simply walk out – without having to wait at a checkout lane or scan any items. Read more
Finastra Israel helping drive cashless payments revolution. The
Covid-19 pandemic forced the payments industry to embrace technology at an accelerated pace, a moment Finastra had long been preparing for. Read more
Interview | Israel’s next pioneer: meet the country’s new astronaut.
He’s served as a combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force, launched a successful venture capital firm, and co-founded the Ramon Foundation – meet Eytan Stibbe, Israel’s humble hero. Read more
Singer Omer Adam partnering with Europe-Israel Group and Swiss fund Lian Group to build $120 million underground data center. The group has purchased land in the northern city of Afula for $24.5 million, with construction to get underway at the end of the year. Read more
Israel’s next challenge: filling the talent void. As Israel battles how to attract more talent for the roles that need filling, Aman Group’s Ben Pasternak has some ideas on who can help. Read more
Israeli investor Erel Margalit meets with French Finance Minister to promote economic collaboration. Margalit, who is the chairman of JVP and Margalit Startup City, met with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and other leading figures to promote a joint Israel-France innovation center. Read more
Israeli crypto startup Simplex set to be acquired for $200-$250 million by Canada’s Nuvei. Simplex offers online payment processing and fraud protection exclusively for the cryptocurrency industry. Read more
Prospera founders set to net over $100 million from sale to Valmont.
VC fund Bessemer expected to receive $60 million from the acquisition of the Israeli agtech company. Read more
Israeli alternative-meat ecosystem on fast track for growth. According to a report released by The Good Food Institute Israel, alt-protein has accelerated faster than any other industry in Israel since 2018. Read more
Family matters: home dynamics impact decisions to leave jobs after lockdowns. People with no children or older children are more likely to look for a new job if they are forced to go back to the office, a new report by Israeli company Tikal has found. Read more
Israel’s EVR Motors reveals small, lightweight motor for vehicles. The company is showcasing its new motor at this month’s virtual Ecomotion Week event. Read more
Appointments | Deel appoints Salesforce’s Olivier Elbaz to lead international expansion. The Salesforce executive will help the company navigate expansion and tackle new markets overseas. Read more
Opinion | Context is the key to meeting new challenge of data fluidity. “The result of data becoming fluid is that simple contact details are no longer enough. You need context, both from your internal systems as well as external sources, to generate actionable insights,” writes Eyal Shpin of ZoomInfo. Read more
Israeli agtech startup Prospera acquired by Valmont for $300 million.
Prospera, which became the first local agtech company to be acquired, is a developer of machine vision technologies that continuously monitor and analyze plant development, health and stress. Read more
Vim raises $60 million led by U.S. health giants Walgreens and Anthem. The Israeli healthtech startup develops an online service that helps patients and healthcare providers find, schedule, and receive care from doctors and specialists. Read more
Cymulate raises $45 million series C to help organizations optimize their cybersecurity posture. “Within two years we will be a unicorn,”
predicted CEO Eyal Wachsman, with the Israeli startup’s revenue doubling to $15 million in 2020. Read more
Which Israeli technologies will soon be going to space? Space Hummus, onboard drones, flexible solar panels, and cameras to photograph “lightning elves” are just some of the Israeli technologies that will accompany the next Israeli astronaut to space in 2022. Read more
Pecan AI raises $35 million series B led by GGV. “We are building the Wix of AI,” said CEO Zohar Bronfman, with Pecan’s analytics platform aiming to provide both commercial analysts and business stakeholders with the power of predictive AI. Read more
Wasteless deploys its pricing solution at METRO to help with food reduction. The company automatically adjusts the pricing of food items based on their expiration dates. Read more
Wix acquires Rise.ai to expand its e-commerce activities. Rise.ai has had partnerships with Facebook and Google to help provide companies with online gift card solutions. Read more
PTC to invest over $4.5 million in Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The strategic collaboration will see the American software giant establish an R&D center in the Technion’s Haifa campus. Read more
British Embassy in Israel launches new VC club. Currently, UK investment only accounts for 3% of Israeli startup funding, compared to 35% from the US. Read more
Appointments | Elementor appoints tech entrepreneur Yam Regev as VP of Marketing. Before joining Elementor, Regev founded Zest, which was recently acquired. Read more
Opinion | The HoneyBook Story: Innovating and investing in less obvious markets. Based on our experience, we ask ourselves three main questions when evaluating these opportunities, as we try to figure out for which Israeli founders we could potentially be a great fit. Read more
HoneyBook reaches unicorn status with $155 million series D. The Israeli online business management startup raised funds at a $1.1 billion valuation after registering an estimated $50 million in revenue in 2020. Read more
VAST Data raises $83 million series D, tripling valuation to $3.7 billion in just one year. Tiger Global Management led the round for the Israeli-founded storage software company. Read more
Global-e targeting $3.5 billion valuation in Nasdaq IPO. The fintech company is aiming to raise $431 million in its offering after revealing that it is on pace for annual revenue of $200 million. Read more
Payoneer to collaborate with eBay on payments solution. Starting from last month, Payoneer has managed payouts for eBay sellers from Greater China as eBay expands its management of payments around the globe. Read more
U.S. giant EPAM acquires Israeli cybersecurity startup White-Hat. The sum of the deal wasn’t announced, but is believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars and to include both cash and shares. Read more
Analysis | How can Israel help in India’s Covid crisis? India is in crisis, and it’s time for countries to help more than just sending boxes. Read more
SavorEat establishes new subsidiary to develop plant-based egg alternatives. EGG’N’UP will operate independently of SavorEat, which has produced plant-based 3D-printed meat replacement burgers. Read more
Israeli insurance giant Migdal to invest over $355 million in renewable energy company Doral. The deal will include the acquisition of 20% of Doral, extension of credit facilities, and direct investments in projects. Read more
Survey: Over one-third of Israeli organizations hit by ransomware had their data encrypted. The average cost of remediating a ransomware attack in Israel was $569,729, one of the lowest costs of all countries according to a survey conducted by cybersecurity company Sophos. Read more
Opinion | We need to talk about founder mental health. “VCs can see founders as a means to an end, an approach that is neither pleasant nor beneficial. Or they can see them as people with people problems and address them as needed,” writes Yaffa Abadi of F2 Venture Capital. Read more
