CTECH – Latest Israeli Innovation and Technology News
Fintech unicorn HoneyBook strikes sweet $250 million Series E, doubles valuation to $2.4 billion. The Israeli company, which has seen booking of more than $1.9 billion on its platform in 2021 alone, has raised over $400 million in the past six months. Read more
Blings.io raises $4 million Seed round to develop new video format.
The MPF format is a hundred times smaller than a standard video file and allows companies to produce individualized messaging that appear as regular videos. Read more
illumigyn raises $33 million to help women with affordable medical
care. The funding will help the company deploy its platform this month in the United States, United Arab Emirates, India, Singapore, and South Korea. Read more
Agora raises $9 million for real estate investment management
platform. The Israeli startup’s platform aggregates all of the data and financial information, automates manual work, calculates costs, yield, and additional elements. Read more
Staircase AI raises $4 million Seed round for B2B relationship
intelligence platform. The startup helps CS teams by using advanced
machine learning to analyze thousands of digital engagements between
companies and their customers. Read more
Intel Ignite names 10 startups selected for 5th Tel Aviv cohort. The
latest cohort is comprised mostly of innovate deep tech startups, which are tackling some of the biggest societal issues. Read more
Cloud security startup Oxeye emerges from stealth with $5.3 million
Seed funding. The Israeli company’s cloud-native application security testing solution enables customers to identify and resolve the most critical code vulnerabilities as an integral part of the software development lifecycle. Read more
U.S. blacklists Israeli hacking tool vendor NSO Group. The Commerce
Department placed NSO Group and Candiru on its trade blacklist, saying
they sold spyware to foreign governments that used the equipment to
target government officials, journalists and others. Read more
What’s the next big thing after cannabis? Hallucinogenic mushrooms of course. Senior executives from the Israeli high tech industry shared which areas will be an investment hit in 2022 ahead of Calcalist and Poalim Hi-Tech’s StartUp+ competition which will conclude Thursday, with two out of five finalists to win monetary prizes and services. Read more
Opinion | The horror movie that is cyberwars. The ongoing cyber battles between Iran and Israel have also included psychological warfare, as Iranian hackers focus on personal data, hoping to keep Israelis on edge. Read more
Tech TLV | UBS Global Head of Technology Services: “Israel, to us, is
really important.” Speaking at Calcalist’s Tech TLV conference, Paul McEwen explained UBS’ interest in the Startup Nation and how it helps the firm achieve its goals. Watch full interview
What inspired Alibaba to choose Israel for its first foreign R&D
Center? Speaking with James Spiro at Tech TLV, General Manager at Alibaba Israel Lihi Zelnik shares what made the Asian company come to the Middle East. Watch full interview
Gerry Livnat: UBS to establish R&D center in Israel. The General Manager of UBS Wealth Management Israel made the announcement at the
Calcalist Tech TLV conference, emphasizing Israel’s role as a cyber hub. Read more
Appointments | SafeBreach Israel appoints Edo Yahav as VP R&D and GM to drive expansion efforts. “Edo has a proven track record of building high-performing teams that drive innovation and company momentum,” said CEO Guy Bejerano. Read more
Fiverr acquires Israeli freelance management platform Stoke for $95
million. Stoke’s platform allows companies to build their own talent directory for both online and offline talent, track budget and milestone completions and provides solutions for tax, legal and workforce classification compliance. Read more
IBM teams up with Israeli startup NeuReality to build AI inference
platforms. The platforms are aimed at enabling sectors such as finance, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, and smart cities to deploy computer vision, Natural Language Processing, recommendation systems, and other AI use cases. Read more
Cloud startup Lumigo raises $29 million Series A to expand monitoring and debugging platform. The Israeli company is expanding its SaaS observability product to containers, Kubernetes and Virtual Machines. Read more
The Israeli company behind Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction Secret NFTs. SCRT Labs’ mission is to create products and systems to accelerate the adoption of privacy-first and decentralized technologies. Read more
Velocity raises $17 million Series A for production-like environments
platform. “More than 20% of a developer’s time is being wasted on creating and maintaining non-production environments, instead of working on delivering new features to customers,” says Velocity CEO Tal Kain. Read more
Appointments | Artlist boosts executive team with new round of
appointments. The creative technology company, which offers content creators powerful video and image editing software, has named Amit Ashkenazi as Chief Strategy Officer, Orit Bar-Niv as Head of Motion Array and Asaf Yaniv as Head of Footage. Read more
Opinion | Will central and commercial banks negatively disrupt
innovation? “Deploying well-designed central bank-issued digital currencies may transform our societies to become modern, innovative, more resilient and very user-centric economies, however, several central banks are taking an ‘irritating’ route,” writes Amnon Samid, a CBDC expert. Read more
Tech TLV | “Cybersecurity’s Apple could come from Israel.” Nadir
Izrael, co-founder and CTO of Armis, was talking at a cybersecurity panel held at the Tech TLV conference, alongside Amit Bareket, co-founder and CEO of Perimeter 81, Gil Azrielant, co-founder and CTO of Axis Security and Shay Levi, co-founder and CTO of Noname Security. Read more
Microsoft Israel GM: Time to bring back Israeli high tech expats.
Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk, the GM of Microsoft Israel’s R&D Center said during Calcalist’s Tech TLV conference that the company plans to hire an additional 2,500 workers over the coming years, including ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arabs. Read more
Alibaba DAMO Israel GM: “The customer expects us to think before they do.” Lihi Zelnik-Manor was speaking alongside Orna Klienmann, Managing Director of SAP Labs Israel, at a panel highlighting the technological trends shaping the e-commerce world. Read more
“If you cannot find what you are looking for in Israel, you are not
going to find it.” UBS executive Paul McEwen was speaking about the Start-Up Nation’s contribution to his organization at Calcalist’s Tech TLV conference. Read more
“Israel is lagging in modernizing network infrastructure,” says Amdocs senior executive. Avishai Sharlin spoke during Calcalist’s Tech TLV conference, noting that “people want to connect everything and this requires network availability, but investments in the local industry are lacking.” Read more
Crypto powerhouse Celsius acquiring Israeli startup GK8 for $115
million. The Israeli company, founded just three years ago, provides financial institutions an on-premise end-to-end platform for safekeeping and managing digital assets. Read more
Tipalti raising new round at $8-10 billion valuation. The Israeli fintech company is seeking at least $200 million in funding at fourfold the valuation at which it raised its Series E one year ago. Read more
Amnon Shashua’s A21 Labs raises $20 million from Walden Catalyst at $400 million valuation. Walden also announced the closing of its
inaugural $550 million fund focused on deep-tech investments which has made six investments to date, including in Israeli startup Speedata. Read more
The government’s search for Olim might just fill the tech gap. There
is a talent shortage in Israel’s high tech sector – and Bennett is turning to immigrants for help. Read more
Firstime announces $100 million climate-tech fund, backed by Jonathan Kolber. The new fund has already made two inaugural investments, firstly in BeeHero, the precision agriculture and pollination company, and in digital healthcare and diabetes management company Hygieia. Read more
AI mobility startup Autobrains raises $101 million for self-learning
platform. The Series C round was led by Temasek and will help the company disrupt the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle marketplace with its alternative approach to AI for automation. Read more
Vensica Therapeutics raises $16 million for its urology treatment
platform. The biopharma company’s needle-free platform can improve patient experience, resolve needle-related issues, and make procedures easier. Read more
Appointments | Viola Growth names three new general partners. Natalie Refuah, Rafi Carmeli, and Eran Westman will all adopt the new title after each previously holding the position of Partner. Read more
Delaware Court in Marriott ruling: Directors have duty of oversight in
cybersecurity. The ruling makes it clear that the court views cybersecurity as a central risk for all firms, not just hi-tech companies, and expects directors to monitor it closely. Read more
Appointments | Citi appoints Avi Gefen as new head of Citi TLV
Innovation Lab. The TLV Innovation Lab, established in 2011, is the largest Citi operates worldwide with more than 220 employees. Read more
Opinion | Don’t blame the founders. The gap between entrepreneurs’ expectations and investors could grow at any point during a company’s lifecycle, so it’s important for both sides to ensure that a healthy dialogue – based on mutual transparency and trust – continues to exist. Read more
General Atlantic looking to expand Israel investments. The massive
American fund, which has $78 billion in assets under management, is searching for a senior executive to head an Israel office focused on identifying promising early-stage tech startups. Read more
Hunting season: The escalating tech recruitment war. Huge billboards, parties, massive bonuses, viral videos, and vacations. The battle for tech talent has reached “madness” levels but is it really necessary or are there egos at play? Read more
NeuraLight launches from stealth, raises $5.5 million to digitize neurology. After selling Chorus.ai to ZoomInfo for $575 million, co-founder Micha Breakstone is on to his next challenge. Read more
Israel’s Spike joins Facebook’s new ‘Metaverse’. Its app works on top
of existing email and is available for iPhones, Android devices, desktops, and now the Oculus Quest 2 headset. Read more
Nokku raises $3 million round for product sampling data platform. The Israeli startup offers CPG companies a data-driven D2C platform for managing, marketing, and sharing samples or trial products. Read more
Iranian hackers leak data from Israeli LGBTQ dating app. The Black
Shadow hacker group announced on Friday that it had hacked into the servers of Israeli web hosting company Cyberserve which provides services to dating app “Atraf”. Read more
Analysis | How should the media respond to Iran’s continued cyberattacks? As Iran-linked groups target Israeli institutions, the media is helping humiliate Israel and strike fear into its citizens. Read more
Israeli startups transforming the next decade of telehealth. These
companies are revolutionizing the way we think about health, and providing patients with remote services, both near and far. Read more
To protect us against earthquakes, SeismicAI needs just three seconds. The company uses technology to predict earthquakes faster than any system – offering seconds that could save millions of lives. Read more
StartUp+ Competition 2021: High tech leaders reveal their mistakes on the way to glory. Calcalist and Poalim Hi-Tech’s competition brought together senior figures in the Israeli high tech industry and they spoke to Calcalist about their greatest wins and losses, and the lessons they learned on the way to becoming the next big success story. Read more
Opinion | Managing your board: A letter to CEOs from a board member. “With the right mindset, professional practices and approach, you as the CEO can maximize the value-add of your investors and board members and build a trusting and supportive relationship,” writes Nimrod Cohen of TAU Ventures. Read more
Israel’s Celeno acquired by Japan’s Renesas for $315 million. Celeno,
founded in 2005 by Gilad Rozen, offers a wide range of wireless communication solutions, including advanced Wi-Fi chipsets and software solutions. Read more
Insight Partners’ recipe for building a unicorn. The venture capital firm has invested $3 billion in Israel, including in Wiz, SentinelOne, and monday.com. Lonne Jaffe, a managing director in the fund: we are willing to roll up our sleeves. Read more
AutoFleet raises $20 million Series B for AI-based fleet management
platform. The Israeli startup improves efficiency of existing fleet operations and enables them to access expanding on-demand mobility services. Read more
Israel’s Alike.Health selected for Google’s first European acceleration program for medical startups. The company’s product,
nicknamed the “Tinder of Medicine,” connects patients with a similar medical condition at various stages of treatment or illness. Read more
DustPhotonics raises $33 million, pivots focus to silicon photonics.
Ronnen Lovinger, formerly company president, has assumed the role of CEO, with dozens of employees being fired due to the phasing out of the transceivers product line. Read more
The Jerusalem College of Technology launches Cyber Elite 2.0 for
underrepresented groups. This year’s cohort is composed of 36 students
– 17 women and 19 men – and will last a total of 10 months. Read more
Opinion | AI Ethics: Who will police the machines? China, the US, and private corporations all have different priorities and guidelines when implementing artificial intelligence, explains Dov Greenbaum. Read more
