CTECH – Latest Israeli Innovation and Technology News July 7, 2022
Insurtech unicorn Next Insurance nixes 17% of workforce. The company is laying off 150 employees, mostly in the U.S., explaining that “we must shift focus towards profitability.” Read more
Full list of Israeli high-tech layoffs in 2022. The financial crisis is taking its toll on Israeli high-tech, with numerous companies parting ways with significant portions of their workforce. Read more
Aurora Labs raises $63 million Series C for vehicle software intelligence. The Israeli autotech startup allows automotive companies, Tier-1 suppliers, silicon vendors, and enterprises to develop, certify and diagnose software, and conduct over-the-air updates. Read more
On the map: Fortissimo to invest $40 million in Simplex Mapping Solutions. The fund is acquiring 40% of the 3D modeling company at an estimated value of $50 million before the money, and in the second phase an additional 30% at a slightly higher value. Simplex maps cities at a higher resolution than Google Maps using aerial photographs. Read more
The Carelon phenomenon: Israeli tech helps US health giant go digital. In an exclusive interview, Udi Goori, GM of Carelon Digital Platforms Israel (formerly Anthem Israel) shares how Israeli healthtech startups help his company improve the lives of millions of Americans. Read more
RISE & align: Assuta’s innovation arm to partner with five additional healthtech startups. The technologies include everything from artificial intelligence for cancer pathology diagnosis and innovative blood test for the diagnosis of diverse diseases in a single blood test to accurate technology for colonoscopy. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: A biography of artistic idealism and hardship. Aviad Mizrachi, CTO & Co-Founder at Frontegg, shares insights after reading “Gustav Mahler” by Jens Malte Fischer. Read more
IBM acquiring Israeli data observability startup Databand. The multinational corporation will pay tens of millions of dollars for the company that has developed a unified data pipeline observability solution that’s purpose-built for data engineers. Read more
Anodot lays off more than a quarter of its workforce. The business monitoring company is parting ways with 35 of its 129 employees. Read more
SQream slashes over 15% of workforce. The data analytics startup is laying off 30 of its 170 employees in order to help it reach a balanced bottom line. Read more
Vayyar Care’s new tech solution for an old person problem. Adults who care for their parents from afar can install sensors helping them track the behavior and potential falls of the elderly. Read more
“Within 5 years there will be a shortage of 100,000 high-tech employees.” The Israeli government’s High-Tech Human Capital Committee, headed by Dadi Perlmutter, released its conclusions in which it outlined a path for doubling the number of tech employees. Read more
Biotech food colorant startup Phytolon closes $14.5 million Series A. The Israeli startup has developed fermentation-based food-coloring alternatives that are healthier and sustainable. Read more
“There was no recession and no slowdown, only an increase in demand.” Speaking at “The Future is in HealthTech” panel as part of a series of gatherings sponsored by Calcalist and Start-Up Nation Central, Dr. Shiri Sadeh-Sharvit, Chief Clinical Officer at Eleos Health added: “The willingness of professionals to experiment with digital technology has increased, but they will not experiment on things they feel don’t have value.” Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Learning how to conquer your fear of failure. Ron Jaworski, CEO at Trinity Audio, shares insights after reading “Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win” by Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz. Read more
Opinion | Why you should take the opposite marketing approach in a crisis. “If a crisis catches you by surprise, you’ll probably need budget cuts to survive. But the first thing is to recognize the human tendency to make reckless decisions in times of fear,” writes Ronen Menipaz, CEO of the startup group M51. Read more
eToro laying off 100 employees, officially announces termination of SPAC. The trading platform is currently in advanced negotiations for a private funding round for between $800 million and $1 billion, at a $5 billion valuation. Read more
Verbit to layoff 10% of its workforce, eight months after $250 million funding round. Most of the total of around 80 layoffs will be of employees in the U.S., with 30 employees from Israel leaving the company. Read more
Bizzabo axes almost 30% of employees. The event planning platform will lay off 120 of its 400 employees as it prepares for an extended downturn in business. Read more
F2 Venture Capital raises $250 million for early-stage investments. The Tel Aviv-based VC firm has raised its third seed fund of $150 million for Israeli founders, as well as another $100 million fund to continue backing existing portfolio companies. Read more
Voyantis raises $19 million in Seed for its codeless predictive AI platform. The Israeli startup’s technology helps growth and marketing teams to acquire and retain high-value users for long-term profitability. Read more
The future of gaming “will be a hybrid between the virtual and the real world.” Buff Technologies CEO Elay De Beer speaks to CTech about gaming, the metaverse, and our consumption habits. Read more
Staying Alive: Early-stage startup crisis survival tips. Ahead of the third Calcalist and Poalim Hi-Tech StartUp+ Competition, heads of the Israeli ecosystem provide forecasts and advice for startups at the beginning of their journey. Read more
Volvo Group invests in Israeli unicorn Optibus. The Swedish giant has joined the company’s Series D, which was announced in May at a company valuation of $1.3 billion, in order to accelerate the deployment of its electric buses around the world. Read more
Foodtech startup Maolac raises $3.2 million Seed round to create superfood with the health benefits of breast milk. The Israeli startup
is using its proteomics discovery platform to create an anti-inflammatory product line to help athletes reduce muscle strain, and support active living and improved mobility of the elderly. Read more
AI consultancy OpTeamizer to invest millions of dollars in early-stage startups. OpTeamizer plans to invest in 10 early-stage Israeli startups, with the financial scope of each investment ranging from $50,000 to $300,000 and beyond. Read more
Izhar Shay leading $5.5 million investment in startup Spiritt. The Israeli startup’s platform enables the development of complex apps by orally describing the concept to a computer without the need to write code. Read more
“It is the influencers who are responsible for their posts, not the company.” Prof. Stefan Engels, an expert in e-commerce law, advises countries and companies on how to deal with the hot potato of advertising through the use of influencers. In an interview with Calcalist, he explains why those who have more followers have more obligations. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: The impact revolution and how we can change the world together. Yoel Cheshin, Founder of 2B and Co-Founder of Israel Round Table, shares insights from reading “Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change” by Sir Ronald Cohen. Read more
Opinion | The future belongs to the connectors of dots. “At Huminn we look at problems as multifaceted yet one in essence, with researchers from different fields working together, sharing insights, and studying a problem from all perspectives simultaneously,” writes Sam Salman, the Chairman & CEO of Huminn. Read more
Unicorn cutbacks: Lightricks to lay off 80 employees – 12% of workforce. Lightricks is the latest in a growing list of unicorns to lay off employees despite having hundreds of millions of dollars in their account, joining the likes of Cybereason, Trax, and Snyk. Read more
Merlin: Selling sabra cyber to Uncle Sam. In an exclusive joint interview, David Phelps, Chairman & CEO of Merlin Cyber, and Shay Michel, Managing Partner of Merlin Ventures, share how their company helps Israeli startups penetrate the lucrative US federal cyber security market; Michel: “Israel is no longer the ‘start-up nation’, but the the ‘scale-up nation’.” Read more
“Once you work in companies that make a significant impact you can’t go back.” Michal Roizman Vaida, VP Product at Blue White Robotics, told CTech what keeps her motivated, why agrotech won’t be affected by the market crisis and why women are bound to succeed, even in a male dominated industry. Read more
Opster raises $5 million to manage enterprise search engines and databases. The Israeli startup founded by former founders of Zoominfo and Logz.io provides a platform for automation and management of enterprise search engines and databases, with the aim of improving performance, ensuring stability and reducing costs. Read more
Analysis | Three signs that high-tech took a turn for the worse in June. A dramatic increase in the sale of shares by employees and investors at reduced valuations, the drop in open positions at startups, and the fact VCs are dictating draconian terms before investing are all indications that the financial crisis has truly started to hit the local tech sector. Read more
Netflix’s security challenges go far beyond your payment information. Jason Chan, the company’s former VP of Information Security, spoke to CTech about issues streaming services face when delivering content
around the world. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Exploring the journey to anything we want. Gila Tolub, Partner at McKinsey Israel, shares insights after reading “The Art of Possibility” by Ben and Rosamund Zander. Read more
Appointment | Cylus brings on board Keren Krauthammer from NSO and Shahaf Rozansky from Cellebrite. Cylus, a provider of cybersecurity solutions to the railway industry, has announced a series of appointments, with Keren Krauthammer to serve as the company’s VP of Human Resources and Shahaf Rozensky as the VP of Product. Read more
Opinion | SPAC is back: Surprising new opportunities. “Despite all of the negative talk, democratization of the U.S. capital markets that can be facilitated by the SPAC wave, continues, thus allowing smaller Israeli tech companies to go public,” writes Jonathan M. Nathan of Meitar Law Offices. Read more
Ailing crypto lender Celsius to lay off a quarter of its employees. The American-Israeli company is parting ways with around 150 employees as it continues to look for a way out of a crisis that saw it pause all withdrawals from its platform three weeks ago. Read more
Snyk laying off 30 employees less than a year after raising $530 million. The cybersecurity unicorn announced that it would be making organizational changes despite reaching a valuation of $8.5 billion last year and raising a total of $830 million in 2021. Read more
Investment in Israeli high-tech startups plummets by 31% in Q2. Local tech companies raised a relatively disappointing total of $4.5 billion in the second quarter of 2022, with only 104 funding rounds being completed compared to 135 in the same quarter last year. Read more
eToro abandons SPAC merger, targeting $1 billion funding round instead. The dramatic drop in the valuations of tech companies and increased oversight by the U.S. SEC meant the company was better off canceling the merger and remaining private. Read more
Afeka College’s ‘graduate profile’ hopes to tackle the local talent shortage. There are 18,000 jobs that need filling in Startup Nation. Professor Ami Moyal has joined CTech to share how the college is shaping future techies. Read more
Appointment | Tsofen Organization appoints Maisam Jaljuli as its new co-CEO. Jaljuli will help ensure the implementation of a five-year plan allocating NIS 600 million for developments and innovation in Arab society. Read more
CTalk | “Make sure you have leeway to continue and operate for the next couple of years.” Yael Schiff and Ariel Sterman, Investors at Bessemer Venture Partners, have some advice for tech startups and talked about the healthy aspects of the crisis. Watch full video
“Any company that answers a need with a sense of urgency around it is pretty safe.” Nofar Amikam, Early Stage Investor and General Partner at Glilot Capital, talks about how important it is to solve real problems. Watch full video
“The first thing we recommend is to not overreact to the market sentiment that’s going on right now.” Gal Gitter, Partner & Managing Director of Ibex Investors, provided insights to the importance of efficiency of growth in times of crisis. Watch full video
“You have to take into account that there could be a recession.” Zvika Schechter, General Partner at Crescendo Venture Partners, discusses the potential fallout from an economic recession. Watch full video
