CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News Feb. 6, 2024
Wiz hits $350 million in ARR, plans to add 400 employees in 2024. The cloud security unicorn also announced the appointment of Dali Rajic, former President and COO of Zscaler, as its President and Chief Operating Officer. “We are eager to reach the future milestone of $1 billion as we look toward an IPO,” said Assaf Rappaport, CEO & co-founder of Wiz. Read more
Verbit appoints Yair Amsterdam as Acting CEO in place of Tom Livne. Livne has decided to step down as CEO and will take the role of Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors. Read more
Crypto mobile payment app Oobit raises $25 million Series A. The Israeli-founded startup allows crypto holders to tap and pay at more than 100 million retailers globally where Visa and Mastercard are accepted, while merchants receive fiat currency. Read more
High-tech workers comprise 20% of IDF reserves, double their share in general population. A report published by the Finance Ministry on army reservists absent from work as of December shows that high-tech workers are disproportionately represented in reserve units, and that reservists tend to have higher salaries than the national average. Read more
Big Tech continues to soar as GenAI convinces Wall Street to reject overpricing predictions. Around 80% of the S&P 500 who have reported their earnings for Q4 of 2023 have exceeded expectations. Notably, reports from major companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, which make up a significant portion of the index’s growth, indicate a profound impact from the use of Generative AI. Read more
Facebook turns 20: Is it time to say goodbye to Zuckerberg? Among the tech giants, Facebook-turned-Meta is the only one whose founder still serves as CEO. Mark Zuckerberg created a company that changed the world, a monster that reached a peak value of more than a trillion dollars and over 3 billion active users, but if Meta wants to continue to dominate, it needs a new vision and especially a new CEO. Read more
Which tech companies are recruiting amid massive layoffs and how to land a lucrative opening. Amid the economic crisis and waves of layoffs, some high-tech companies are still hiring. But what does it take to secure a job when there are more candidates for every opening? Read more
“To be a female entrepreneur in Israel is difficult, but to be a woman leading a startup during wartime is even tougher.” Women-led startups from the south were the focus of an event led by Yazamiyot and Arieli Capital and held at Microsoft’s offices in Be’er Sheva to discuss the challenges that female entrepreneurs are facing and how to support women-led startups in the south. Read more
AI-powered nutrition solution wins Yazamiyot competition for women-led startups. The company anydish took the top spot in a women-led startup competition focused on supporting female entrepreneurship in Israel’s south following 7/10. The event, organized by Yazamiyot, Arieli Capital, and Mastercard’s FinSec, included a competition between five startups, with innovations focusing on real-time ultrasound diagnosis and alternative protein-rich foods. Read more
Tom Livne stepping down as Verbit CEO, will serve as Chairman, focus on VC. Livne will join Yaniv Jacobi’s Oryzn Capital after being a limited partner in its second and third funds. Read more
Mapping Israel’s GenAI security pioneers. It is estimated that in the past year there were between eight and ten Seed rounds for Israeli AI security companies, averaging $5-6 million. Read more
January 2024 in Israeli tech funding: $473 million in 17 deals. This is a 75% increase compared to the $270 million raised by Israeli startups in January 2023. Read more
Israel investing hundreds of millions to thwart suicide drone threat. The Israeli defense establishment has initiated a large-scale emergency procurement of defense systems to counter the challenge of intercepting massive swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles that could attack Israel should an all-out war break out with Hezbollah. Read more
Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners investing $110M to acquire 15% of Shlomo Group’s auto and credit operations. Affinity Partners, which has raised $3 billion mainly from Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund, is making its first investment in an Israeli company. Read more
Palo Alto Networks ordered to pay $151.5 million to Centripetal in patent trial. The jury agreed with Centripetal that Palo Alto’s security software infringed four patents related to Centripetal’s “threat intelligence gateway” network-security technology. A Palo Alto spokesperson said that the verdict was “contrary to both the law and the extensive evidence we presented at trial” and that the company plans to appeal. Read more
Innoviz cutting 13% of workforce to extend cash runway. The LiDAR technology developer is laying off around 60 people with the aim of reducing cash outlays by $22-24 million on an annualized basis. Read more
Cyber vendor Proofpoint laying off 280 employees, 6% of total workforce. The cybersecurity company, which was acquired by private equity giant Thoma Bravo for $12.3 billion in 2021, will be cutting around 20 jobs in its Israel center as part of the layoffs. Read more
Fintech unicorn Brex set to close Israel R&D center as part of global layoffs. The over 20 Brex employees in Israel are expected to be laid off or offered roles abroad after the company announced last week that it was cutting 20% of its global staff. Read more
Oasis Security raises $35 million Series A to resolve non-human identity security challenge. The Israeli startup’s platform automatically discovers all non-human identities across all environments, providing visibility and risk assessment with vulnerability auto-remediation. Read more
Aim Security raises $10 million to secure GenAI enterprise adoption. “This enormous risk surface is replete with unique attack vectors that existing security solutions cannot sufficiently address,” said Matan Getz, CEO and Co-founder of Aim Security. Read more
Tech employment rate plummeted last year, and is getting worse in 2024. 2023 was a year of extreme ups and downs in employment that ended with the number of high-tech employees close to the average of 2022. Between October and December the number of employees in the industry decreased by 15,000, due to the decrease in investments and the war. Read more
IDF unveils ‘Operation Atlantis’ for flooding Hamas tunnels. The IDF explained that it initially analyzes the characteristics of the soil and the water system in the area to ensure that the possibility of using groundwater in the area would not be compromised. Read more
Minute Media interested in acquiring Sports Illustrated rights. The sports content unicorn is among the parties considering a bid for the right to publish the iconic, battered magazine. Read more
Senior VC executive charged with sexual offenses against two women. The name of the investor will be published next week after his appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected. The indictment states that the investor had sexual relations with two women against their will. Read more
How Houthi attacks are shaping the new economic landscape. Should the attacks by the Houthis persist, the crisis may increase inflation and delay interest rate cuts. Even if the disruptions in the supply chains do not reach the level experienced during the pandemic they could damage stability. Read more
Armis on verge of acquiring cyber startup Silk Security for tens of millions of dollars. Silk, which has developed a platform for sustainable cyber risk resolution, raised $12.5 million in Seed funding last August. Read more
Transcription unicorn Verbit searching for new CEO to replace Tom Livne. The company’s revenues have plateaued around $80 million over the past year, with no visible signs of significant growth on the horizon. The company and Livne are in agreement that a new CEO is needed to lead Verbit to the next phase. Read more
“Lack of investment and difficulty in long-term planning means high-tech companies will continue to lay off.” The global wave of high-tech layoffs has already reached thousands of workers in Israel, and those who have been laid off are having trouble finding a new job, especially amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas. Read more
Global ammo shortage forcing Israel to limit Gaza bombings. The IDF is grappling with depleted ammunition stockpiles, having to navigate the delicate balance between addressing current missions and ensuring readiness for unforeseen challenges. Read more
Israel’s credit rating faces S&P threat if conflict broadens beyond Gaza, warns Director. “The negative outlook on the ratings implies that we currently see at least a one-in-three chance of a downgrade over the next one to two years,” said Maxim Rybnikov, director of EMEA Sovereign & Public Finance Ratings at S&P. Read more
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