CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News July 24, 2024
From IPO dreams to CrowdStrike’s crisis: Inside the collapse of the Wiz-Google mega deal. The timing of CEO Assaf Rappaport’s announcement that Wiz was walking away from the Google deal on the eve of the giant’s earnings report indicates that he was mulling the decision until the very last moment. The fear of becoming history at the age of 40, the blow received by competitor CrowdStrike, the attempt to raise the price, and the desire for a huge IPO were probably among the considerations that tipped the scales. Read more
Wiz rejects Google’s $23 billion acquisition offer, eyes IPO instead. “Let me cut to the chase: our next milestones are $1 billion in ARR and an IPO. Saying no to such humbling offers is tough, but with our exceptional team, I feel confident in making that choice,” CEO Assaf Rappaport wrote in an email to employees. The deal was supposed to be the largest acquisition ever by the American search giant and the largest exit of an Israeli company. Read more
Applied Systems acquires insurtech startup Planck in $300 million deal. The Israeli company will form the base for the insurance software giant’s AI Development Center in Israel. Read more
Magenta Medical nets $105M to secure FDA approval for world’s smallest heart pump. The financing will be used to advance the company’s U.S. clinical programs in multiple mechanical circulatory support (MCS) indications and to secure the first FDA approval for the Elevate System in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (HR-PCI). Read more
Nvidia’s biggest acquisitions of Israeli startups. Excelero, Deci, Run:Ai, and of course Mellanox all caught the eye of one of the world’s most valuable companies. Read more
CrowdStrike’s troubles open new doors for Israeli cyber companies. The American company may not have been a household name in Israel or globally until this weekend’s outage, but it is highly regarded in the cyber industry and is a major competitor to many Israeli cyber companies. Read more
CrowdStrike-Microsoft outage: A technological wake-up call. How a software glitch exposed the fragility of global systems. Read more
Selina: The end? Hospitality chain facing insolvency after defaulting on loan. The hospitality chain has lost 99.5% of its value since going public, currently having a market cap of just $25 million. It is set to soon be delisted from Nasdaq after repeatedly failing to meet the exchange’s deadlines. Read more
The question that will determine the future of AI. According to Sequoia’s calculations, even under the optimistic assumption that each of the technology giants will generate $10 billion annually in revenue from artificial intelligence, a gap of half a trillion dollars remains between expenses and revenues in the field. Goldman Sachs is also pessimistic, noting that technology giants that are spending more than a trillion dollars on AI investments in the next five years will have little to show for it. Read more
Balancing duty and career: Reservists face tough choices in employment. Job seekers who are in the reserves fear mentioning their service out of a concern that it will harm their job prospects, but also want to know how the organization will handle their absences. Read more
Amdocs set to cut 1,500-3,000 jobs in new round of layoffs. The software giant is expected to lay off between 5%-10% of its global workforce. Read more
Cyber propels Israeli startup funding, but is overdependence a risk? According to Startup Nation Central data, companies in Israel raised $5.1 billion in the first six months of the year, half of which came courtesy of cybersecurity companies. “Overdependence on cyber in the long term may come at the expense of other significant trends and opportunities for the ecosystem,” said SNC CEO Avi Hasson. Read more
Deel acquires Hofy for over $100 million, completes third purchase in five months. The current acquisition is part of Deel’s strategic plan for 2024 to grow its workforce by more than 1,000 employees. Today, the company has over 4,000 employees in more than 100 countries, including 150 in Israel. Read more
How ‘energy islands’ are shaping Israel’s wartime energy security. Israel’s energy transition plan has been in the works for years but took on greater urgency when war broke out on several fronts following deadly Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7. Read more
Power failure: Has SolarEdge’s crisis made it a takeover target? The company’s value collapsed from $20 billion to $1.6 billion in about two years, making it a potential acquisition target. SolarEdge, which has no controlling owner, announced layoffs of 400 employees, half of them in Israel, causing its stock to continue to fall. Read more
From Nir Zuk to Omri Casspi: The unexpected winners of the historic Wiz deal. The Palo Alto Networks founder and NBA player turned VC are just two of the surprise winners in the deal. The likes of Shlomo Kramer, Mickey Boodaei, and Marius Nacht are also all set to make a handsome profit through their investment in Gili Raanan’s Cyberstarts fund, which is believed to hold a $900 million stake in Wiz. Read more
Napkin contract in gas station: Wiz’s journey from Israel’s military intelligence to $23B exit. Along with universities, Israel’s military intelligence and technology units, such as 8200, have provided the leaders for hundreds of tech startups, including Wiz. Read more
Tricentis acquiring SeaLights in $150 million deal to expand test automation platform. The American company also purchased Israeli startup Testim for $200 million in 2022. Read more
Hybrid cloud data platform CTERA bags $80 million, mostly in secondary funding. CTERA has developed a software platform that enables distributed file storage in private and public cloud environments, combined with accelerated access from remote sites and AI-based protection against ransomware attacks. Read more
CytoReason raises $80 million, including from NVIDIA and Pfizer, to scale its AI disease models. The Israeli startup provides therapeutic area leaders with molecular-level insights and valuable AI tools to make data-driven decisions, helping them improve the probability of phase 2 success and optimize their R&D portfolio. Read more
Cyber unicorn Aqua axes 10% of workforce. Aqua, which raised $60 million at a $1 billion valuation earlier this year, is laying off around 50 employees. Read more
From IPO dreams to a Google acquisition: Wiz’s $23 billion journey. Wiz, once focused on an IPO, ultimately embraced a massive buyout from Google, altering its growth trajectory. The acquisition is a testament to the fluctuating dynamics of the tech sector and investor influence. Read more
Why Google needs Wiz to keep up with Amazon and Microsoft. Google does not have a cyber strategy like its cloud competitors, Microsoft and Amazon. It is trying to catch up quickly, but for that it needs Wiz. Read more
Taboola lands Apple advertising deal, shares get much-needed boost. The agreement strengthens Taboola’s portfolio of reselling contracts with one of the world’s most well-known brands and gives Apple an opportunity to expand its advertising business. Read more
Innovalve acquired for $300 million in cash by medical device giant Edwards Lifesciences. The Israeli startup has developed an artificial mitral valve that can be replaced using a minimally invasive catheter to help treat patients suffering from heart disease. Read more
Ex-Amazon employee criticizes silence on colleague’s Hamas capture, Amazon defends approach. Sasha Trufanov has been held hostage by Hamas since October 7. “Our focus remains on supporting all efforts to bring Sasha home safely, and continuing to ensure his family is supported during this difficult time,” Amazon said in response. “All of a sudden people rediscover ‘institutional neutrality’,” says former colleague Joshua Burgin. Read more
