CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation and Technology News Sept. 21, 2022
Google acquires Israeli climatech startup BreezoMeter for over $200 million. The Israeli startup aims to monitor air quality and improve people’s health by using atmospheric data that is acquired through multiple sensing stations, AI, and machine-learning algorithms. Read more
CrowdStrike acquiring Reposify in first foray into Israeli cyber market. This is the cyber giant’s first acquisition of an Israeli company, with the deal estimated at several tens of millions of dollars. Read more
Pente Networks raises $10 million for LTE/5G management platform. The Israeli startup’s technology aims to augment and replace traditional enterprise networks with simplified, ultra-fast and ultra-secure wireless broadband solutions. Read more
CytoReason raises $20 million from Pfizer for AI drug discovery and development platform. Pfizer will also have options to license the Israeli startup’s platform and disease models, and fund supplementary project support, in a deal potentially worth up to $110 million over the next five years. Read more
Israel Aerospace Industries lands $1 billion in drone deals. With the war in the Ukraine demonstrating the importance of drones, IAI has closed two new mega deals: $600 million with an unnamed foreign country and $400 million with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Read more
CTalk | “We are witnessing unbelievable changes in the world that will affect the next hundred years.” Avi Eyal, Founder and Managing Partner for Entrée Capital, spoke to CTech about ‘the best of times and the worst of times’ for founders. Watch full interview
CTalk | “Leading companies truly care about their employees.” Amit Rapaport, Co-Founder & CEO at Compete, spoke to CTech during Mind the Tech NY about salary benefit trends and employee satisfaction. Watch full interview
CTalk | “Data and data science will be the next gen of software.” “Data is a key differentiator for companies to be more efficient,” Alon Lev, co-founder & CEO of Israeli startup Qwak, told CTech at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York. Watch full interview
Palo Alto Networks on verge of $600 million acquisition of Apiiro. The Israeli startup’s code risk platform is designed to provide risk visibility and control from design to code. Read more
Deep Instinct raises $62 million from BlackRock and Jupiter. The Israeli cybersecurity company is also undergoing a major change in its leadership team, with Guy Caspi to leave his role as CEO and become the company’s Chairman and CPO. Lane Bess will take over as CEO. Read more
OurCrowd launches $200 million global health equity fund in collaboration with the WHO Foundation. The fund will focus on healthcare and the industries that are direct determinants of health, including energy transition and food agriculture. Read more
1MRobotics raises $16.5 million Series A for robotic dark stores. The Israeli startup develops fully automated, small, and flexible dark stores enabling effective and profitable last-mile operations for the world’s largest brands and service providers. Read more
Tymely raises $7 million to fix “broken” eCommerce customer service. The company’s solution automates customer service capabilities using natural language processing (NLP). Read more
Mind the Tech NY 2022 | “There’s a lot of interest for companies to go public – most likely next year.” In a fireside chat at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York, Eklavya Saraf, Global Head of SPAC and Managing Director of New Listings, Nasdaq, and Asaf Glas, VP Clients at IBI Capital, discussed tech companies and IPOs today and where things are headed. Watch full video
“Cyber attacks are going to get much worse.” Asheem Chandna, Partner at Greylock, was speaking during a panel on cybersecurity which included Merav Bahat, Co-founder & CEO at Dazz, and was hosted by Dr. Nimrod Kozlovski, Co-founder at Cytactic. Watch full video
“It used to be ‘buy now, pay later’ and now it’s becoming ‘buy now, pay never’.” Joe Proto, Board Chairman, Director & Advisor at Emerging FinTechs, was speaking in a panel regarding Fintech in 2030, which included Ira Robbins, CEO of Valley Bank, and Igal Rotem CEO of Finaro. Watch full video
“In cyber defense, people are the weakest link – resources should be invested there.” This is what Jim Rutt, CIO/CISO at Dana Foundation, said in a panel on the state and future of corporate information security, held as part of the Mind the Tech conference in New York. Watch full video
“The tech crisis will separate between the boys and the men.” Yochai Zeid Ronen, CEO at Big-Tech 50, talks to CTech about what we can expect from the public and private markets during turbulent times. Watch full video
Adam Singolda: “We almost closed Taboola in the past.” The founder and CEO of the company said at the Qumra Capital roundtable at Mind the Tech NY that sometimes you also have to be naive when founding a startup “because if I were more experienced I might have closed Taboola several times.” Watch full video
“It is about bringing value and making the world a little bit better.” Talon co-founder and CEO Ofer Ben Noon joined CTech to discuss why he hasn’t thrown in the towel just yet. Watch full video
“There is cyber warfare happening everyday. You don’t feel it because there is no blood on the streets, but it is super dangerous.” Guy Caspi, CEO of cybersecurity company Deep Instinct, was speaking at Mind the Tech NY. Watch full video
“Deals don’t fall through because of money, they fall through because of people.” “When you see the acquiring team, you see who they work with on a daily basis, and whether or not you want to work with them,” explained CEO of Arya, Offer Yehudai. Watch full video
“If you recruit the wrong person, you end up paying for it twice.” Arkadiy Goykhberg, VP of Information Security at DMGT, was speaking in a panel on the economic crisis and its effects on high-tech, which included Ian Amit, Co-founder & CEO of Gomboc.ai, and was hosted by Pavel Livshiz, Partner at Hetz Ventures. Watch full video
Mind the Tech NY 2022
“I am super bullish for the long term.” Judah Taub, Managing Partner at Hetz Ventures, spoke to CTech at Mind the Tech NY about the changes in the market during the current crisis. Watch full video
“Today the conversation is growth – but sustainable growth.” “Companies need to be extremely focused on product market fit,” Galia Beer-Gabel, Partner at Team8 Fintech, told CTech at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York. “They must make sure they have a product that customers really want and are also willing to pay for.” Watch full video
“The only thing causing the crisis is inflation.” Gary Reiner, Operating Partner at General Atlantic, was speaking in a panel at Mind the Tech NY with Boaz Dinte, Managing General Partner at Qumra Capital, Rotem Iram, Co-Founder & CEO of At-Bay, Hila Klein, COO at Fiverr, and Iddo Gino, Founder & CEO of RapidAPI. Watch full video
“Sometimes the world needs a crisis.” Timor Arbel-Sadras, CEO at LeumiTech, spoke at Mind the Tech NY about the need to be flexible and adapt to change. Watch full video
“Founders really need to focus on how to move the needle with growth without doing it at all costs.” Whitney Bouck, Managing Director at Insight Partners, was speaking on a panel at Mind the Tech NY with Yaron Elad, CEO of Elron Ventures, Merav Rotem Naaman, General Partner at State of Mind Ventures, Pavel Livshiz, General Partner at Hetz Ventures, Barak Platt, leading partner, M&A, and High-tech at Yigal Arnon-Tadmor Levy, and Salvatore A Melilli, Partner at KPMG. Watch full video
“We are creating a new relationship with our vehicles.” Gil Gur Arie, Chief Global Data, Insights and Analytics Officer at Ford Motor, was speaking at Mind the Tech NY. Watch full video
“You can be a super person with AI or you can stay behind while your competitors pass you.” Dr. Roey Tzezana, Futurist and Head of Methodologies at SparkBeyond, was speaking at the Mind the Tech Conference in New York. Watch full video
“In the startup ecosystem you can get ‘made’ and you can get ‘whacked’.” “Unlike the rest of the business world, the startup ecosystem is a closed guild with norms and consistent rhetoric,” Nimrod Vromen, CEO of consulting firm Consiglieri told CTech at Calcalsit’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York. “It’s not unlike the mob. You can get ‘made’ and you can get ‘whacked’. You can lose your reputation in one day.” Watch full video
“Only 2% of startup funding is allocated to companies founded by women.” Keren Hod, Founder & CEO of WE Women Entrepreneurship, was speaking at a panel held as part of Calcalist’s Mind the Tech conference in New York. Read more
“The next wave will be focused on sectors waiting for digitization.” Nir Adler, General Partner at State of Mind Ventures, was speaking to CTech during Calcalist’s Mind the Tech NY conference. Watch full video
“We change cancer from a fatal disease to a chronic ailment.” Ofer Shalev, Founder & CEO at New Phase, spoke to CTech during Mind the Tech NY about New Phase and the technology behind the company. Watch full video
“The banking industry isn’t here to kill fintech.” Stuart Cook, Chief Digital Product Officer at Valley Bank, was speaking to CTech during Calcalist’s Mind the Tech Conference in New York. Watch full video
“Robots will replace people, eventually – especially in agriculture.” “It’s just the very early beginning of a process, but it will happen,” Eyal Desheh, Chairman of the Board of Tevel Aerobotics Technologies, a fruit-picking drone company, told CTech at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York. “There is no other solution, unfortunately. People just don’t want to do work in agriculture anymore.” Watch full video
EL AL CEO: “Our biggest available asset is our people.” In a presentation titled, “Above the Skyline: The New Experience of Aviation”, EL AL CEO Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, shared with the audience at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference how Israel’s national airline weathered the global pandemic and its flight plan going forward. Watch full video
“There is so much value to unlock in the creator economy.” Brendan Gahan, Partner & Chief Social Officer at independent creative agency Mekanism, was speaking alongside Yuval Tal, Managing Partner at Team8, during Mind the Tech NY. Watch full video
“The surveillance industry is heading towards a squeeze.” Dr. Bill Marczak, Research Scientist at ICSI and Research Fellow at Citizen Lab, was speaking at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech conference in New York. Watch full video
Mind the Tech New York 2022
“Israeli high-tech will exit this crisis in a stronger and healthier position.” “I’m willing to estimate that this crisis will be short and the recovery will be quick. I’m willing to say that by next year’s conference in New York the crisis will be behind us,” said Calcalist Publisher Yoel Esteron at the start of the Mind the Tech conference in New York. Watch full video
“The cyber market isn’t recession proof but it is certainly more resilient.” Assaf Rappaport, Co-Founder & CEO of Wiz, was speaking during a joint panel with Adam Singolda, Founder & CEO of Taboola, held at Mind the Tech NY. Watch full video
Nuseir Yassin: “The community economy is going to be much bigger than the creator economy.” “Social media will become TV and then you will witness something called the rise of community platforms. The reason I’m betting on community platforms is that they provide the human connection,” said Nuseir Yassin, CEO and Founder of Nas. Watch full video
Innovation Minister: “We must think big – and long term.” Addressing Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York, Orit Farkash-Hacohen, Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science & Technology, stressed that although US-Israel bonds in innovation are strong, cooperation in the field must be improved. Watch full video
Mayor Moshe Lion: “Jerusalem is a high-tech hub. We are moving fast.” Addressing Calcalist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion discussed the capital’s ever growing high-tech industry and how under his watch “nobody can be left behind.” Watch full video
SeatGeek CEO: “We are going to live or die by technology.” In a fireside chat at Calclaist’s Mind the Tech 2022 Conference in New York, SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger and Entrée Capital Managing Partner Avi Eyal shared insights about their experiences in the tech world. Watch full video
“The more the entrepreneurs take care of their physical and mental condition, the better off the company and its performance will be.” The venture capital fund State of Mind Ventures presented to the high-tech community a new initiative that emphasizes the connection between the personal growth of entrepreneurs and their business performance over time. Watch full video
Bank Leumi CEO: “Companies with a good product that solve difficult problems have a great opportunity.” In a fireside chat with Calcalist reporter Sophie Shulman at the Mind the Tech NY 2022 Conference, Bank Leumi CEO Hanan Friedman said that “there are many explanations for why Israeli companies are resilient. Israeli companies know how to be flexible and adapt themselves to changes and make quick and significant steps.” Watch full video
HiBob acquires Portuguese company Bugle, sets up R&D center in Lisbon. The HR management platform, which raised $150 million at a $2.45 billion valuation last month, is expanding in Portugal on the back of the recent opening of its Berlin office. Read more
Teddy Sagi’s Kape Technologies eyeing more acquisitions after raising $220 million. Sagi acquired $120 million of shares in the placing on the London Stock Exchange to increase his stake in the cybersecurity company to 54.3%. Read more
VineSight raises $4 million Seed round to combat online misinformation and toxicity. The Israeli startup’s platform leverages AI to identify suspicious share patterns across Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Tiktok, and other platforms. Read more
Winn.AI secures $17 million Seed funding for real-time AI sales assistant. The Israeli startup’s platform unobtrusively monitors sales calls and captures key data so salespeople don’t need to take notes or manually update the CRM. Read more
Healthtech startup DayTwo laying off dozens of employees. The Israeli startup’s solution for metabolic disease aims to improve health outcomes and reduce or eliminate prescription medications. Read more
Qumra’s Top 10: The Israeli startups you need to watch out for in 2023. From software development for quantum computers to an AI-based virtual assistant for the elderly: these are the 10 startups selected to Qumra Capital’s “Tomorrow’s Growth Companies” list. Read more
CYREBRO clinches $40 million Series C for security operations center platform. The Israeli startup eliminates the extremely costly endeavor of building an in-house security operations center, with its platform providing full-visibility of the existing security posture while delivering highly advanced cybersecurity. Read more
Dig Security raises $34 million Series A to deliver real-time data security for the cloud. The Israeli startup’s solution provides real-time detection and response to threats against data to stop potential data breaches early in the kill chain. Read more
Ownera raises $20 million Series A, including from J.P. Morgan, for blockchain interoperability network. The Israeli startup’s offering connects any type of securities tokenization engine on any public or private blockchain, or even on traditional ledgers. Read more
Groundcover secures $20 million Series A to expose code crashes. The Israeli startup’s platform monitors applications with eBPF, tracking 100% of the production stack covering every application, legacy code, side car or 3rd party component. Read more
Xtype nets $5.8 million Seed to accelerate ServiceNow app development for enterprises. The Israeli startup’s deployment and release automation platform increases enterprises’ ability to deliver new features and applications on ServiceNow. Read more
Simon Bennetts joins Jit.io to focus on its open-source web app security scanner. Bennetts is the founder of OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), the world’s most widely used web app scanner. Read more
On Track: Cervello keeps railways safe from cyber threats. Co-founder and CEO Roie Onn shares how his Israeli startup, developer of a leading rail cybersecurity solution, has successfully broken into one of the world’s oldest and most critical industries. Read more
Opinion | Is there any real justification for the current gloomy tech market? “Innovation is not going to stop. It might be slowing down a little, but no one can imagine a world without these technological advancements,” writes Daniel Damboritz, High Tech Partner at Yigal Arnon – Tadmor Levy law firm. Read more
Taboola laying off 6% of workforce, a total of over 100 employees. Founder and CEO of the digital advertising platform Adam Singolda sent a letter to the employees announcing the cutbacks, which include a plan to reduce costs by $38 million. Read more
Zesty lands $75 million Series B for dynamic cloud infrastructure solutions. The Israeli startup’s solutions automatically adapt compute and storage to meet real-time business needs and allows DevOps teams to reduce cloud costs, maintain optimal app performance, and alleviate the stress of managing static infrastructure. Read more
Joonko raises $25 million Series B to increase workplace diversity. The Israeli startup’s recruitment solution assists companies in achieving their diversity, equity and inclusion goals through its ecosystem that identifies and suggests pre-qualified candidates from across a range of underrepresented sectors. Read more
Revenue analytics startup Sightfull raises $18 million Series A. The Israeli startup enables SaaS companies to quickly analyze vast amounts of complex business data in order to continuously test and adjust their go-to-market strategies. Read more
Opus nets $10 million in Seed funding for cloud security platform. The Israeli startup aims to help cloud security teams with automation, gain control, and lead remediation efforts across the organizational cloud environment by using best practices and proven methodologies. Read more
Intel cutting $20 billion off Mobileye valuation ahead of delayed IPO. According to Bloomberg, Intel’s Israeli self-driving car unit is set to be valued at around $30 billion when it goes public. Read more
Why are there almost no Bedouins in high-tech companies? A new study found that two major barriers to employing Bedouins are the language barrier and the tensions between Bedouins and Jews in the south. Study also reveals that 20% of Bedouin boys dropout of high school. Read more
Zynga acquires Israeli mobile growth platform Storemaven. The Israeli startup creates mobile growth and ASO technologies which help top mobile companies and game developers optimize creatives, conduct growth experiments, and measure performance. Read more
Bright Data acquires eCommerce insights provider Market Beyond. The Israeli company is launching Bright Insights, a new division which will provide customers with a complete web data cycle, from collection through to analysis and actionable insights. Read more
Compete cuts a quarter of its workforce six months after raising $15 million. The Israeli startup is parting ways with 11 of its 39 employees from its HR, marketing, and sales departments. Read more
Viola raising $100-150 million for new fintech fund. Bank Hapoalim, which was an anchor investor in Viola’s first fintech fund, decided to significantly reduce its participation in the new fund, with Bank Leumi set to be an anchor investor instead with a $15 million investment. Read more
Fireblocks hits $100 million in annual revenue despite crypto downturn. This achievement places Fireblocks among a rare subset of SaaS unicorns — including Slack and Twilio — that have reached this coveted valuation milestone in less than five years. Read more
Report: Israel ranked top in Digital Quality of Life worldwide. Startup Nation jumped three spots in a year due to its overwhelming score in internet affordability in times of high inflation. Read more
Opinion | Startup Name-tion: Israeli startups & the name game. Picking the perfect name for your startup will not make or break it – unless it’s really awful – but having a great backstory for how you came up with your company name, is the ticket. Read more
