CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News Dec. 15
Israeli cyber startups raised $4B in 2024 amid war, led by Wiz and Cyera. With Wiz and Cyera accounting for nearly 40% of the total, Israel’s cyber sector defied challenges to double last year’s fundraising totals. Read more
Evinced raises $55M to meet growing demand for digital accessibility. The Israel-founded startup began generating revenue in February 2021 and has doubled its sales every year since. Read more
Apple’s first AI server chip to be engineered in Israel. Aiming for mass production by 2026, Apple pivots its R&D priorities toward artificial intelligence breakthroughs. Read more
Israeli stock market outperforms global peers despite war, surging 27% in 2024. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is on track to close 2024 with one of the world’s best returns. The TA-125 has gained about 27% year-to-date, a performance on par with the S&P 500 and far surpassing most European markets, such as the MSCI Europe index, which rose just 6%. Read more
Hyro secures $15M Series B extension to tackle healthcare’s AI needs. Over the past year, the company has doubled its annual recurring revenue and expanded its client base and partnerships with platforms like Salesforce and Cisco. Read more
Cyber giant Fortinet acquires Perception Point, boosting AI security for email and SaaS apps. The $75 billion cybersecurity leader will integrate the Israeli company’s AI technology to secure modern workspaces against advanced threats. Read more
Israeli high-tech exits surge to $13.4B in 2024 amid sobering market realities. Despite the ongoing war and a global environment of soaring interest rates—perhaps even because of them—the past year (up to December 8) has seen a 78% surge in the value of exits by Israeli companies. Read more
Stigg raises $17.5M to address growing demand for dynamic pricing in AI and SaaS. The company’s platform enables developers to instantly implement flexible, scalable pricing strategies in response to shifting market demands. Read more
Palantir EVP: “Modern war cannot be won without software.” Noam Perski was speaking at the inaugural DefenseTech Summit in Tel Aviv. For the first time in Israel, a two-day summit was hosted celebrating all things cyber, digital, and war. It was a sign of things to come. Read more
Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire: “Defense tech has become the hottest field for VC funds.” Maguire identified sensors, quantum technology, and artificial intelligence as key areas where Israel could excel. Read more
Defense tech VC Protego raises $70M in just two weeks, sets sights on $200M. Led by Lital Leshem and Lee Moser, Israel’s first defense-exclusive VC fund is capitalizing on surging global interest in military technology. Read more
Astrix Security nets $45M Series B led by Menlo and Anthropic to enhance AI era identity protection. The company helps enterprises close the Non-Human Identities blindspot, providing visibility into all non-human identities, and automatically detecting and remediating over-privileged, unnecessary and malicious access to prevent supply chain attacks and data leaks. Read more
Bluevine cuts 100 jobs in second round of layoffs in six months. The fintech company is reducing its global workforce by 18%, including laying off 30 employees in Israel. Read more
What’s behind China’s late investigation into Nvidia’s acquisition of Mellanox? The probe, coming as tensions between the US and China escalate over semiconductor technology and trade policies, is scrutinizing whether Nvidia breached commitments made during the 2020 conditional approval of the Mellanox deal. These conditions included providing fair access to GPU accelerators and Mellanox networking equipment in China and prohibiting anti-competitive practices like forced bundling and discriminatory terms. Read more
“A country that does not invest in AI today will be left far behind on the battlefield of tomorrow.” Director General of the Ministry of Defense Eyal Zamir, added: “AI will enable the operation of mixed combat units—soldiers and unmanned systems, or even fully autonomous units capable of making independent decisions.” Read more
AI startup Aporia in talks to be acquired for tens of millions of dollars. The Tel Aviv-based company, known for its AI monitoring platform, is negotiating a potential deal with another Israeli company. Read more
Riverside nets $30M Series C as Oren Zeev and Alexis Ohanian double down on content creation platform. Top investors back Riverside’s mission to simplify professional audio and video content creation with AI-powered tools. Read more
China probes Nvidia over Mellanox deal amid rising US-China tensions. Investigation centers on potential violations of China’s anti-monopoly laws and acquisition commitments related to the $6.9 billion deal completed in 2020. Read more
High-tech companies open doors to wounded IDF veterans. The tech industry is offering new opportunities to injured IDF veterans through specialized programs. Read more
Israeli startup develops AI to detect 250 genetic diseases in fetuses from maternal blood. IdentifAI’s technology analyzes fetal DNA at just nine weeks gestation, expanding prenatal testing capabilities. Read more
