A Break from the craziness around us celebrating LIFE during sunset on a beach north of Tel Aviv.
CTECH – Israel’s latest Technology and Innovations.
Interview | “Technology can not substitute lousy teaching,” says Andreas Schleicher. Schleicher, the world’s foremost educator, believes that closing the entire education system was a disaster and that technology should be used to foster new types of personalized education. Read moreStart-Up Nation Central teams up with Inter-American Development Bank to promote Latin American partnerships.
New partnership with ConnectAmericas will include creation of more than 5,000 profiles for Israeli companies on the social network. Read more
ReWire and TytoCare among the winners of Extreme Tech Challenge 2020. The companies were chosen from out of 2,400 contestants from 87 countries. Read more
New York City Cyber Center in Soho reopened to lead Covid-19 recovery. Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) founder and chairman Erel Margalit led a delegation of CEOs from JVP portfolio companies to make the announcement. Read more
Online supermarket sales jump 100% as Israeli public braces for lockdown. With infection rates climbing, Israelis are taking their shopping online, with dry goods dominating sales. Read moreIsraeli government to hand out relief payments amidst record number of Covid-19 infections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that the state will be awarding a one-off payment for all Israeli adults to alleviate some of the financial pressures caused by the crisis. Read more
Israeli robotic bee hive startup Beewise raises $10 million in series A funding. The Israeli Beewise hopes to replace the old hives and make them smarter so that bees can be monitored remotely and treated without human contact. Read more
Analysis | Israeli startups are bracing for a dry spell. The decline in the number of acquisitions in the first half of 2020 signal tough times for the Israeli tech scene. Read more
WeWork founder Adam Neumann invests $10 million in smart mobility company GoTo. GoTo lets users book on-demand rides on shared vehicles including cars, bicycles, electric scooters, and mopeds using a single mobile app. Read more
Tech veterans offer an alternative fast track to the coveted exit.
Instead of working for the big payday for many years, Ram Yonish, co-founder of Cymplify, says entrepreneurs should give more thought to making a quick exit. Read more
Israeli healthtech VC aMoon Velocity invests $6 million in Nectin Therapeutics. Nectin Therapeutics places antibodies in proteins known to cause cancer, improving immune systems and blocking certain checkpoints. Read more
India-China tensions spell a boom for Israel’s defense industry. India wants to stock up on guided bombs and drones as it prepares for more faceoffs with China. Read more
Lemonade announces entry into new pet vertical as stock price flattens post-IPO hype. The new insurance product, designed exclusively for cats and dogs, joins Lemonade’s homeowners and renters insurance product. Read more
Former Google exec launches Israel’s first investment fund dedicated to gaming. VGames already has four portfolio companies and focuses on pre-seed and seed funding for games studios. Read more
Microsoft is on the move, will relocate development center to new WeWork offices in Tel Aviv. 1,500 employees are set to take over four stories in the central Tel Aviv Midtown building by the end of the year. Read more
The first images from Israel’s Ofek 16 satellite have been received from space. The satellite is operated by the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Read more
Dozens of protesters arrested as demonstration in front of PM’s residence turns ugly. The “Black Flags” demonstration was organized in response to police’s removal of tents set up by anti-corruption activists outside the premier’s residence. Read more
Industrial AI startup Seebo raises $9 million in series B round. Seebo develops cloud-based software that allows industrial manufacturers to quickly and cost-effectively turn existing machinery into smart connected systems that report their health and usage data. Read more
Israel-based REE recognized as game-changer, granted Bloomberg award. The company’s main product is a wheel arch that includes most of the vehicle’s system. Read more
Survey: Covid-19 crisis has led to dramatic rise in demand for engineering studies. The survey was conducted to coincide with the 5th Afeka Conference for the Development of a National Human Capital Strategy in Engineering that will take place online on July 20. Read more
Israeli startup NovaSight completes $8 million series A funding round. The company’s products help cure myopia in children by using eye-tracking glasses. Read more
Blockchain cybersecurity startup Valid Network raises $6 million. Ten Eleven Ventures led the round with participation from JVP, the company’s first investor together with the Israel Innovation Authority in 2018. Read more
Israel-based Iguazio partners with SFL Scientific to speed up AI development. The partnership will help Fortune 1000 companies in sectors across finance, insurance, retail, and more. Read more
Take this down Mia: Audiocodes provides automated note-taking for Microsoft Teams users. The Israeli firm has partnered with Microsoft to assist companies with transcription and note-taking tools during online meetings. Read more
Israel’s credit card giants finally jumping on smartphone payment bandwagon. Isracard, one of the country’s largest credit card companies, was the first to launch its product, announcing the addition of the ANYPAY service to its app. Read more
Israeli-made drones to help rescue operations in northern Norway.
Atlas Dynamics’ drones are able to fly for hours at a time in extremely cold conditions. Read more
Israeli telco Cellcom ditches Salesforce for Amdocs’ CRM system.
Cellcom decided to part ways with Salesforce after the latter refused to significantly reduce its license fee, estimated at an annual cost of over $2 million, according to one person familiar with the matter.
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Interview | West Bank solution depends on dialogue, not unilateral annexation, says Mellanox’s Waldman. “In these days of the pandemic, we have a lot more important things to deal with than annexation.” Read more
Inside Israel’s secret ‘off-shore’ business lounge. In the coronavirus era, businesses were hit with lockdowns and travel bans. Here’s how three Israeli institutions conspired to open its skies to foreign investors. Read more
VC firm Amiti secures $110 million for third fund. Modi Rosen of Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm Magma, joined forces with Amiti’s founder Ben Rabinowitz to establish the new early stage fund. Read more
Interview | Mally Bitzur-Parnes is on a mission to drag Israeli industry into the 21st century. Covid-19 outbreak made change-resistant manufacturers understand the need for modernization, says the chairwoman of the Israel advanced production institute. Read more
Israel-U.S. BIRD Foundation invests $8 million in 10 new collaborations. The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation approved projects in automotive, cybersecurity, healthcare, and more. Read moreDiplomaTech | Resolute Chile ready for Israeli tech solutions, says trade attaché.
Hadar Shor believes Chile should be an obvious market for Israeli companies and can also serve as a perfect springboard to the rest of South America. Read moreNetApp completes Spot.io acquisition for $450 million.
Spot.io offers cloud computing optimization services to software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies. Using machine learning algorithms, it monitors the availability and pricing of computation power offered by cloud services to optimize use by clients. Read moreTech leaders say West Bank annexation would be catastrophic for Israel.
A panel of tech executives warns of the likely harm to befall their industry and the entire economy in the event of Israel deciding to take over parts of the West Bank. Read moreReaching less than 50% its capacity, Via’s Tel Aviv shuttle service gets another year on the road.
The Israeli transportation ministry recently approved Via’s ride-sharing service Bubble for an additional period of one year, likely realizing the need to monitor public transportation passengers is crucial in fighting off the current health crisis. Read moreIsrael Innovation Authority eases terms for protecting institutional investors’ investments in tech.
The minimal investment eligible for protection will be $29 million instead of the original $43.5 million minimum and several investors will be allowed to partner on a single investment. Read more
Solar-powered transmitters to warn Israeli drivers of camels on the road. As soon as a camel comes within 100 meters of a road or rail track, GPS users will receive an automatic notification, for example via the Waze application. Read more
