CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News Aug. 2025
Verint agrees to $2 billion buyout by Thoma Bravo. Acquisition delivers 18% premium for shareholders and signals acceleration of AI-driven CX automation strategy. Read more
The legitimacy paradox: What drives or destroys tech sectors. AI fuels consumer tech, defense rides geopolitical tailwinds, but binary options, crypto, and NFTs show how fast hype can sour. What defines an industry’s legitimacy and trendiness in the Israeli and global landscape? Read more
Why OpenAI and xAI angels are betting on Israeli AI startup Tzafon. Tzafon is building foundational models that interact with computers the way we do. It has already secured funding from angels at top AI companies and signed a deal with Google Cloud. Read more
The doom scale: How SF house parties are deciding the future of AI investment. Why Silicon Valley’s party small talk about the apocalypse is now driving billion-dollar investments. Read more
AI won’t just transform factories and logistics. It’s coming for lawyers, teachers, and accountants. In CTech’s VC AI Survey, Greenfield Partners’ Shay Grinfeld discusses how factories, warehouses, and logistics may have seemed like the natural first targets for AI disruption, but that the bigger shock is coming elsewhere. Read more
“I achieved the Holy Grail: I built software that builds software.” At 31, with no investors and almost no staff, Maor Shlomo sold his one-man startup Base44 to Wix for $80 million in just six months, a story that captures both the promise and peril of the AI era. Read more
Crypto exchange Kraken acquires Israeli no-code trading startup Capitalise.ai. The Israeli startup’s natural-language platform promises to lower barriers for complex market strategies. Read more
Why FIMI is betting $80M on Benny Landa’s failing printing dream. Israel’s largest private equity fund sees opportunity where BMW and Tetra Pak heirs lost millions. Read more
“AI hasn’t replaced human judgment, it has significantly increased our efficiency.” In CTech’s VC AI Survey, Fusion’s Yair Vardi shares insights on how the technology has changed the investment space. Read more
“The industrial AI revolution is here”: Nvidia Israel links data centers across continents. New Spectrum-XGS technology turns distant facilities into a single giga-scale “AI factory.” Read more
Inside Nir Zuk’s departure and Palo Alto’s next gamble. The founder’s exit leaves CEO Nikesh Arora alone to steer a $25B merger and a global cyber empire. Read more
Armis Security at a crossroads: IPO, capital raise, or strategic sale? The board of the cybersecurity unicorn faces tough choices as market attention intensifies. Read more
Lutnick: “We should get equity for our money” in Intel. U.S. Commerce Secretary signals shift from subsidies to ownership stakes. Read more
“Today, every investment is also evaluated through a GenAI lens.” Speaking in CTech’s VC AI Survey, Glilot+’s Lior Litwak highlights how AI has transformed the fund’s strategy and blurred the lines between traditional and tech-driven domains. Read more
HyperAd secures $1 million to fix the ad creative bottleneck. The Tel Aviv-based startup, backed by the likes of Horizon Capital and Fiverr’s Micha Kaufman, has developed a platform that generates high-performing ad creatives in minutes. Read more
Armis raising hundreds of millions at over $5 billion valuation. Thoma Bravo expected to join funding after cyber unicorn surpasses $300 million in ARR. “It is true that we are receiving many investment offers – dozens of them. These discussions are ongoing, and as always, once there is something concrete to share, we will update you right away,” CEO Yevgeny Dibrov wrote in an email to employees. Read more
IVIX raises $60 million Series B to combat financial crime with AI. The Israeli startup maps hidden financial networks, helping tax, security, and enforcement agencies worldwide detect money laundering, trafficking, and sanctions evasion. Read more
Israel’s first open-access AI supercomputer to launch in September. SDS-AI will give local startups and universities computing power previously available only abroad. Read more
White House weighs $10 billion Intel stake through Chips Act conversion. Proposal would transform $10.9 billion in grants into a 10% ownership slice. Read more
InNegev: Israel’s next big AI exits will come from Enterprise, Cyber, and Robotics. Chief Investment Officer Amir Tzach joined CTech for its VC AI Survey to share predictions and insights on how AI will change the game for everyone – and how Startup Nation can get ahead. Read more
Why did a U.S. court let an Israeli cyber executive accused of pedophilia walk free on $10,000 bail? The executive, arrested in Las Vegas during the Black Hat conference, was released on minimal bail and allowed to leave the country. Read more
Serbia revealed as buyer in Elbit’s $1.63 billion arms deal. The Israeli defense firm had withheld the client’s name; package includes drones, missiles, and command systems. Read more
“Startups in Portugal and Israel are in a similar situation because the local market is not big enough.” For the two countries, collaboration is mutually beneficial: Startup Nation gets a foothold in the EU, and the Portuguese get a taste of Israeli talent. Read more
Microsoft commissions review into Israeli military use of Azure after surveillance allegations. The company hires outside counsel to check claims its cloud services hosted Palestinian phone records. Read more
Viola Ventures on AI’s ‘iPhone Moment’ for traditional industries. In CTech’s VC AI Survey, Viola Ventures’ Alex Shmulovich shares insights on how the technology will transform the investment space. Read more
