CTECH Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News Jan. 2, 2024
Return of IDF reservists presents unique challenges for tech companies. Reservists face the challenge of readjusting to work after 7/10, straddling between the familiar and the altered. Read more
Bank of Israel cuts interest rates by 25 bps amidst war, easing inflation. The Bank of Israel lowered short-term borrowing rates for the first time in nearly four years. It had raised rates 10 straight times in an aggressive tightening cycle that took the rate from 0.1% last April before pausing in July and again in August, October and November. Read more
CTalk | Iron Nation: Emergency fund supporting Israeli early-stage startups. Iron Nation Co-Founder and CMO Ilan Tevet spoke to CTech at Calcalist’s 2024 Forecasts event about how the VC is supporting early stage startups during Israel’s war against Hamas. Read more
BIRD Energy invests $9.75 million in Israel-U.S clean energy projects. “Strengthening technology cooperation between the U.S. and Israel is more important than ever,” said Jaron Lotan, Executive Director at BIRD Foundation. Read more
“The turning point in the fight against Houthi terrorism came when they attacked the energy sector.” Oded Gour-Lavie, CEO of the start-up NT-Tao and a former senior officer in Israel’s Navy, believes that the real solution to the Houthi threat is to go on the offensive. He also speaks of Israel’s need to develop technology for the production of green energy, despite the large gas reserves discovered off its coast. Read more
A war via cell phone: How the IDF-designed encrypted smartphone is changing the face of battle. Communications between IDF units are today almost entirely conducted via the military’s encrypted smartphone. In the current war with Hamas which includes intense urban warfare, booby trapped buildings, and Hamas fighters disguised as Gazan civilians or Israeli hostages, such ease of communicationis often the difference between life or death for IDF units. Read more
Accessibility AI tech developer UserWay acquired by Level Access in $99 million deal. UserWay, which is being taken private by the American company after being traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since January 2022, develops Al-powered technologies that help websites, apps, and digital documents more readily achieve compliance with accessibility regulations. Read more
CTalk | 8200 Alumni Association: Joint effort needed to support early-stage startups. CEO of the 8200 Alumni Association Chen Shmilo spoke to CTech at Calcalist’s 2024 Forecasts event about how his organization is aiding early-stage startups and small businesses amidst the war in Gaza. Read more
“Hamas’ attack is a terrible milestone in the use of sexual assaults as a tool of terrorism.” “The general picture is of a systematic use of sexual assault during the Hamas attack. It is systematic in the sense that it could be identified in all the main arenas where Hamas attacked and you could see repeating patterns,” says Prof. Yifat Bitton, who has been working tirelessly to expose the alarming prevalence of sexual assault by the terrorists. Read more
The limits of high-tech solutions were exposed for all to see in 2023. There is a need to move beyond blind faith in technology, considering the societal implications and responsibilities associated with technological innovations. Read more
Gigi Levy-Weiss: “I have never seen so few new startups in Israel and such difficulty in raising Seed.” The General Partner of NFX, speaking on a panel with Yifat Oron of Blackstone, Hamutal Meridor from Vintage Investment Partners, and Liad Agmon from Insight Partners, does nevertheless see some long-term positives: “I’ve been talking to some very powerful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley who want to come here after the war and start their next company here.” Read more
Israeli startups raise $1.45 billion in Q4 despite war, end 2023 with $6.9 billion in total. The fundraising activity in 2023 was similar to 2018-2019. The data reflects a 44% decrease in the number of deals and a 56% drop in the amount of raised capital compared to 2022. Read more
Increased cybersecurity M&A activity reinforces Israeli strength and innovation. “There are many reasons to believe that Israeli cyber M&A will not only continue but also accelerate. The combination of cyber being in Israeli DNA and the value creation already shown is sure to invite new startups into the ecosystem as well as buyers looking to capitalize on exceptional technology, talent, and businesses,” writes Thomas Krane, Managing Director at Insight Partners. Read more
The five biggest acquisitions of 2023 in Israeli tech. Cybersecurity startups completely dominated the list of the most lucrative M&As involving Israeli startups this past year, with Talon Cyber Security leading the way after being acquired by Palo Alto Networks in a deal valued at $625 million. Read more
Grove Ventures: “Founders need to go back to the basics” in 2024. Lotan Levkowitz, Co-Founder and General Partner at Grove Ventures spoke to CTech at Roadshow+ about how companies can best prepare for the year ahead. Read more
The five biggest megarounds of 2023 in Israeli tech. Cloud security startup Wiz’s $300 million Series D was the largest funding round by an Israeli startup in the past year, followed by Next Insurance ($265 million), eToro ($250 million), Cato Networks ($238 million), and AI21 ($208 million). Read more
Amdocs, IBM slashing thousands of square meters of office space. The two global giants are looking to offload some of their office space in Israel. Amdocs plans to rent space on its campus in Ra’anana, while IBM is considering moving its headquarters from Petah Tikva. Read more
Israel seized over $1 billion in terror funding over past five years. Data from the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel reveal that significant economic sanctions have been imposed on terrorist organizations in recent years. However, the scale of Hamas’s economic activity, along with the funds the Israeli government approved to bring into Gaza, will make it difficult to bring down Hamas’ financial apparatus. Read more
With massive investment, Intel reaffirms confidence in Israel. The chip giant approved the conditions for a huge investment in a new factory in Kiryat Gat and will receive an increased grant of $3.2 billion, or 12.8% of the total cost. Intel also committed to buy 60 billion shekels ($16.6 billion) worth of goods and services from Israeli suppliers over the next decade and the corporate tax it will pay will increase from 5% to 7.5%. Read more
Cyberattacks worldwide are increasing – how can companies and governments work together to prevent them? Muli Motola, CEO at Acsense, spoke to CTech at the Roadshow+ event about how companies can protect themselves online. Read more
Intel confirms additional $15 billion investment in Israeli chip plant. Israel’s government agreed to give Intel a $3.2 billion grant for the new plant in Kiryat Gat, with the chipmaker also committed to buying over $16 billion worth of goods and services from Israeli suppliers over the next decade. Read more
Are the global underwater communication cables the next target of Houthi terrorism? The Yemeni terrorist militia has yet to directly threaten attacks against the internet infrastructures connecting the East and the West, but there are concerns that they could attempt to damage the international communication cables laid on the seabed of the Bab al Mandab Strait. Read more
These are Israel’s five most valuable tech companies entering 2024. Mobileye, Check Point, Nice, monday.com, and CyberArk head the list of the Israeli tech firms with the highest market cap after weathering a stormy 2023, reaching a total value of $83.5 billion. Read more
“2023 was the year of chaos – but also the year of resilience.” Investors joined CTech on a panel at Roadshow+ reflecting on the last year and contemplating what to expect from the ecosystem in 2024. Read more
Israel is “getting a bear hug” from the international community after 7/10. Shachar Kaufman, Co-Founder and CEO at Zoma, spoke to CTech at Calcalist and Poalim Tech’s Roadshow+ event. Read more
“There is no State of Israel without high-tech.” Poalim Tech’s CEO Michal Kissos Hertzog was speaking at Calcalist and Poalim Tech’s Roadshow+, an event in which startups presented their ideas to the leading venture capital funds in Israel. Read more
Erez Shachar: Investing in Israel in 2024 following the crisis will present great opportunities. The Qumra Capital Managing Partner and Co-founder spoke to CTech at Calcalist’s Roadshow+ event about the state of the Israeli tech ecosystem. Read more
Over 15 cyber attack groups affiliated with Iran, Hezbollah or Hamas are operating against Israel, says National Cyber Directorate. According to a report published by the National Cyber Directorate summarizing the cyber events since the beginning of the war, their main targets include academia, healthcare, water, energy, fuel, transportation and maritime shipping sectors. Read more
GPS disruption due to war wrecks havoc on automated farming systems. The agricultural equipment based on autonomous systems is currently out of commission due to the IDF’s targeted disruption of navigation systems, and the younger generation of farmers do not know how to operate the equipment without that tech. How do you cope? Call in a 73-year-old kibbutz member who knows how to operate a tractor. Read more
War with Hamas to cost Israel at least another $14 billion in 2024 and result in a near-tripling of budget deficit. Briefing lawmakers, the Finance Ministry said the war was expected to stretch at least two months into 2024, adding 30 billion shekels for security and another 20 billion for civilian and other expenses. Read more
“After the war, the founders will be even more eager to change the world.” Investors and experts joined CTech for an insightful panel discussing the Israeli tech ecosystem and how it can bounce back from the war. Read more
Human Rights Watch report accusing Meta of censoring pro-Palestinian posts is riddled with serious failures. A report by HRW published last week claimed that “Meta’s policies and practices have been silencing voices in support of Palestine and Palestinian human rights on Instagram and Facebook.” However, an examination by Calcalist identifies biases in the collection of data and in the method of analysis, in a way that undermines the foundation of the organization’s conclusions. Read more
Nvidia donates $15 million to non-profits amidst war. Thousands of employees from 30 different countries donated $5 million, an amount that was tripled by Nvidia with an additional $10 million donation. Read more
Mend.io acquires cyber startup Atom Security. The previously bootstrapped Atom Security was founded earlier this year and the acquisition is valued at several million dollars. This marks Mend’s fifth acquisition in the last three years, totaling tens of millions of dollars. Read more
Vesttoo creditors claims reach $4.8 billion, but less than $100 million likely to be recovered. The bankruptcy court in Delaware conditionally sanctioned last week the reorganization plan under Chapter 11 for Vesttoo’s bankruptcy, but according to industry website Artemis, it seems likely the creditors will only ultimately receive a miniscule portion of their claims. Read more
