CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News July 16, 2024
Wiz founders to net over $2 billion each in Google deal. CEO Assaf Rappaport, CTO Ami Luttwak, VP Product Yinon Costica, and VP R&D Roy Reznik are each believed to hold an estimated 10% of the company. With all four being Israel residents, each will have to pay 25% capital tax and an additional 3% surtax, meaning they will be contributing over $600 million each in taxes. Read more
SolarEdge cutting 400 jobs in second round of layoffs in six months. The struggling renewable energy company laid off 900 workers in January, approximately 16% of its workforce. The latest cutbacks will see SolarEdge part ways with around 8.5% of its remaining team. Read more
Undeterred by war, Index Ventures invests $60 million in five Israeli startups since last October. The VC fund has made 12 investments totaling $186 million in local companies since establishing an official office in Israel in 2022. Read more
Top 5 biggest M&As of Israeli companies in 2024. Run:ai, Priority Software, Resident, BioCatch, and WalkMe all had large exits this year when acquired by other companies. Read more
EXPAND accelerator launches to propel Israeli tech to the forefront of NASA’s Artemis program. The accelerator is based in Mitzpe Ramon’s ‘Space City’ to promote dual-use technologies for Earth and Space. Read more
From Waze to Wiz: Google writing new chapter in Israeli tech history. A small step for Google is a giant leap for Wiz and especially for the Israeli tech industry, which has been struggling to preserve its prestige and reputation in what has been the most challenging year and a half it has known. Read more
Wiz acquisition: Google goes all-in on cyber with historic deal. Google can transform Wiz through its vast infrastructure into a billion-dollar company in a very short time, making it an equal competitor to giants like Palo Alto Networks, Cisco, and others. Read more
Israeli startup raises $4.2 million Seed round to detect heart attacks early. AccuLine’s CORA system uses an advanced method for signal filtering coupled with deep learning algorithms to assess the condition of the patient’s coronary arteries. Read more
Will another round of layoffs halt SolarEdge’s downward spiral? The renewable energy company, which laid off about 900 workers in January, is expected to announce the layoffs of hundreds more employees in the coming week. SolarEdge, which traded at a record value of about $20 billion two years ago and was the first Israeli company in the S&P 500, has since lost almost 90% of its value. Read more
Buildots secures $15 million in funding for AI-driven construction management platform. The Israeli startup’s platform provides a performance-driven approach that measures individual tasks, increasing overall efficiency, and lessening costs, while reducing delays by up to 50%. Read more
TalkIsrael sets out to “positively change the conversation” about Israel among Gen Z. The non-profit is designed to give young influencers the tools to create meaningful conversations about Israel on social media. Read more
BioGenCell pioneers revolutionary cell therapy for microvascular disease. CEO Yael Porat spoke to CTech about the Israeli biotech company’s groundbreaking cell therapy technology for the common and debilitating disease whose primary treatment today is amputation. Read more
Size doesn’t matter: Bigger isn’t always better in AI. With exposure to ChatGPT, we were introduced to a new concept: a large language model, the “engine” behind the chatbot, which trains on hundreds of billions of data items. Now, the time has come for smaller and cheaper models, which can both perform well and quickly, giving smaller players a competitive edge. Read more
Endoron Medical nets $10 million for lifesaving aneurysm repair innovations. New funding round to propel EndoStapling technology through critical clinical trials. Read more
After layoffs and pivot, Vee raises $7M for nonprofit management solutions. Initially founded to help nonprofits develop their activities by connecting them with organizations and their workers, Vee is now leveraging AI agents to help nonprofits scale. Read more
Meitav raising $100M from institutional bodies to acquire shares in tech startups. The fund will utilize the secondary platform of the Israeli company Valoo to close secondary deals with early-stage investors, entrepreneurs, or former employees who are looking to sell their holdings. Read more
Nagish raises $11 million Series A to make communication accessible to the deaf. The Israeli startup’s solution enables real-time transcription, adjustment of the text display to the user’s needs, and an intuitive interface. Read more
CyberProof laying off over 7% of workforce. The UST subsidiary is parting ways with 20 of 85 employees in Israel as part of the global cutbacks. Read more
“If we don’t come to our senses, there is a danger of a lost decade, similar to the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.” Viola Group founder Shlomo Dovrat also warned that “the markets are showing us that we are not in the right direction and that they don’t believe us that much.” Read more
Cloud infrastructure startup Volumez adds another $20 million to Series A. The new funding takes the Series A to $40 million in total after initially raising $20 million last April. Read more
BlackRock offloaded $130 million-worth of NICE shares in first half of 2024. The investment giant’s stake in the Israeli software company has dropped from 5.4% at the end of 2023 to 4.3% as of the end of June. NICE has seen its shares fall by over 12% so far this year, hitting their lowest mark since 2020. Read more
Enso raises $6 million for its guided AI agents platform to make AI accessible to SMBs. The company wants to help 59% of SMBs who would like to generate new ideas for growth but who are burdened by the daily demands of running a business. Read more
Israel Aerospace Industries strikes $1 billion spy satellite deal with Morocco. IAI Chairman Amir Peretz flew to Morocco via a European country in recent days to sign the deal, which had been kept secret until now. Read more
“Economically irresponsible policy could lead to the emigration of strong populations and a spiral of collapse.” The former Chief Economist of the Ministry of Finance, Shira Greenberg, says that unless steps are taken for different sectors of Israeli society to share in the national security and economic burden, “it will mean severe long-term economic damage.” Read more
