CTECH: Latest Israeli Innovation & Technology News Nov. 22, 2022
Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales on online toxicity, Musk, and the battle for internet accuracy. “I sent Musk an email offering help, I am happy to give him some thoughts,” Wales told CTech. Read more
High-tech job openings in Israel fall by 30% over eight months. According to CBS data, the information and communication industries, associated with high-tech, experienced a drop from 8.74% of vacant jobs in February to 6.03% in October. Read more
An early demise: The sad end of Israel’s EarlySense. The company, which developed sensors for hospital beds, fell into debt and went into receivership. The last of the company’s employees submitted a request to open proceedings for fear of losing their money. Read more
2022 VC Survey | YL Ventures: “The cybersecurity industry is not immune to geopolitical shifts.” Ofer Schreiber, YL Ventures Senior Partner and Head of Israel Office, joined CTech to discuss how the cybersecurity market is impacted by the tech crisis. Read more
Teva names Richard Francis as new CEO after Kåre Schultz departure. Francis is the former CEO of Sandoz and was also a senior executive at Biogen for 13 years. Read more
Can the cultured meat industry meet the commercial challenge? The US FDA’s first approval of cultured chicken products may give a significant boost to regulators around the world. But regulation is not the only obstacle to changing the polluting meat industry. Read more
2022 VC Survey | “Crisis times create interesting opportunities,” says Viola Ventures. The firm’s Partner Yael Alroy joined CTech for its 2022 VC Survey series to discuss how this year might impact the startups of the future. Read more
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Salesforce Ventures: “Firing people is very emotionally difficult, but a good CEO needs to do what’s right for the next 10 years.” “We are in the midst of a once-in-a-generation change and I cannot be more optimistic about Israel in this context,” added SVP and Managing Partner Alex Kayyal, with Salesforce Ventures investing $500 million in 32 Israeli companies to date. Read more
What are ghost jobs and why do they hurt employers? In times of uncertainty, layoffs, and hiring freezes, the phenomenon of “ghost jobs” – advertised jobs that don’t exist – have become more commonplace. What’s a frustrated job-seeker to do? Read more
Israel’s Pangea wins $70 million contract to provide secured biometric system in Congo. The system will be used to issue Certificates of Good Standing, allowing Congo’s government to promote the digitization of government services in the country. Read more
CV or not CV? TaTiO answers the HR question. CEO Maya Huber shares how her Israeli startup is disrupting the hiring world by leveling the field for job-seekers while laying off resumes. Read more
CTalk | “We are helping companies beat the Amazons of the world and win in the digital economy.” Tzipi Avioz, EVP Customer Success at Mirakl, also noted how some customers “are moving from ordering over fax and they need help and support with digital implementation and growth.” Watch full video
“We separate the smart from the cart.” Eran Kravitz, Co-founder & CTO of Shopic, explained how his company provides a device with cameras that goes onto any standard shopping cart and uses computer vision to see what goes in and out of the cart and on the shelves. Watch full video
FlyTrex CEO explains journey to becoming largest drone delivery service in the US. Yariv Bash, Co-founder & CEO of FlyTrex, noted how an average delivery takes 3-4 minutes so the company’s drones can even deliver ice cream and coffee. Watch full video
CTech’s Book Review: building teams that trust each other. Adi Ben-Dayan, Co-Founder and VP R&D at Rewire, has joined CTech to share a review of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. Read more
Palo Alto Networks acquiring Cider Security for $300 million. The startup, which develops an AppSec operating system, will receive $200 million in cash and $100 million in Palo Alto stock. Read more
Fintech unicorn Capitolis cuts almost 25% of workforce. The company, which raised $110 million at a $1.4 billion valuation this past March, is laying off 37 employees in total. Read more
The crypto overblow: How leading VCs inflated FTX and SBF. Some of the world’s largest venture capital funds also wanted to be part of the easy and fast money the crypto industry promised, but are now paying the price for investing huge amounts in risky companies that engaged in scandalous leveraged trading. Read more
2022 VC Survey | Jumpspeed Ventures: “What goes up irrationally will come down.” Managing Partner at Jumpspeed Ventures Ben Wiener has joined CTech to discuss the VC ecosystem. Read more
Similarweb CEO: “It’s an employers’ market, and they want employees to return to work from the office.” Against the background of the results of the third quarter, digital intelligence company Similarweb laid off 10% of its employees, 70 of them in Israel. It also cut its growth forecast and stopped recruitment. CEO Or Offer: “It’s clear that employees take advantage of working from home and work much less.” Read more
Contech startup founded by ex-Sayeret Matkal officers raises $11 million. Beti’s cloud-based platform is designed to allow construction companies to easily and efficiently supervise and coordinate workflows and worker safety on the site. Read more
LaLiga and Colosseum Sport partner to promote sportstech in Israel. Colosseum’s program will be launched under the name EXTRAMILE and will provide the entrepreneurs within it with an intensive program with leading mentors in the sports and tech industry. Read more
Opinion | Firing employees and remaining a valued brand are both possible. Even though the industry has faced a slowdown in recent months, retaining skilled employees remains vital. However, to accomplish this objective, smart and sensitive organizational management is essential, writes Shoham Levy, CEO of Creativity Value. Read more
CTalk | “Cosmetics have side effects that we can prevent by using AI.” Dr. Hilla Ben-Hamo, Co-founder & CEO of MeNow, explained how manufacturers don’t check how every product affects each person and the way her company can help by identifying every molecule and its effect. Read more
“In today’s world context is king, we must understand customer behavior.” Yaron Morgenstern, CEO of Glassbox, explained how his company helps analyze and understand positive and negative patterns by customers on digital channels. Read more
Similarweb sacks 130 employees, 10% of workforce. “We have made the very difficult decision to reduce our headcount in preparation for prolonged changes in demand,” said CEO Or Offer, who believes the company can become profitable in 2023. Read more
Unicorn Yotpo lays off 70 employees, 9% of team. The marketing service is cutting its workforce after significantly increasing hiring following a $230 million funding round at a $1.4 billion valuation in March 2021. Read more
Philips Israel laying off dozens of employees as part of global cutbacks. The Dutch technology giant announced last month that it would be cutting 4,000 jobs worldwide. Read more
Cybersecurity startup Akeyless raises $65 million for secrets management platform. The Israeli startup’s platform centralizes the management and security of secrets across multi-cloud and DevOps environments and makes the secrets inaccessible to anyone besides the customer. Read more
The secret behind the surprise success of Monday, Fiverr and Riskified. Israeli-founded SaaS companies published extremely positive results for the third quarter of the year, but they should not necessarily be seen as a signal for continued improvement in 2023. Read more
Clarifruit raises $12 million to reduce waste in the fruit and vegetable industry. The company offers what it claims is the first AI-powered quality control technology for fresh produce. Read more
Meet the Israeli startups joining Google’s Growth Lab. Ten local companies from different verticals are joining the sixth cohort of the tech giant’s exclusive program. Read more
2022 VC Survey | Grove Ventures: “2022 was the year of ‘back to normal’” for startups. Renana Ashkenazi has joined CTech to discuss some of the investment trends techies can expect to see in the year ahead. Read more
Sanara Ventures adds two medtech startups to tech incubator. The two Israeli startups, Panacea and Active Aging, will join Sanara’s portfolio of over 20 companies. Read more
CTalk | “The metaverse is not a revolution, it’s a natural evolution.” Matan Efrima, CPO at YOOM, said his company’s technology enables people to bring their real selves into the metaverse in order to engage with their audiences. Watch full video
“The future of e-commerce is interactive.” Eitan Koter, Co-CEO at Shoprz, said his startup aims to help businesses launch their e-commerce platform, differentiate themselves, and grow through the use of video. Watch full video
Battery Ventures appoints Barak Schoster Goihman to help lead Israeli office. Schoster co-founded Bridgecrew, which last year was acquired by Palo Alto Networks. Read more
