CTECH – Latest Israeli Technology and Innovation News
Investment platform OurCrowd in negotiations for $1 billion SPAC
merger. Jerusalem-based OurCrowd, founded by Jon Medved, helps institutions and individuals invest in emerging companies and is considered one of the most active venture investors in Israel. Read more
EdgeConneX to acquire Israel’s Global Data Center for estimated
$300-400 million. The Israeli company’s highly secure, subterranean data centers in Herzliya and Petah Tikva are built in accordance with the Tier 3 Uptime global standard. Read more
Imubit announces arrival with $50 million in total funding for AI
process optimization platform. The platform interconnects various
processing units while aligning and planning economics, process engineering, process control, and operations for closed loop optimization. Read more
CASTOR secures $3.5 million Seed funding led by Xerox. The printing
company joins existing investors to help reach large enterprises for their 3D printing needs. Read more
Breakthrough Israeli stroke therapy technology startup BrainQ
announces $40 million round. The round was led by Hanaco Ventures, alongside Dexcel Pharma, and Peregrine Ventures, bringing the total funding to over $50 million. Funds to be used to support company’s pivotal trials for stroke survivors in U.S. hospitals. Read more
A Day in a Life | Finding the right recipe in coding and baking. Roni
Aloni, a Software Team Leader at the Citi Innovation Lab in Tel Aviv, is responsible for the team that creates a “no-code” platform for Workflow Management and also enjoys baking in her free time. Read more
Opinion | Has the movie industry successfully adapted to the new
reality of digital technologies? Companies need to create a new model that will work for both streaming services and movie theaters. Read more
A diamond in the rough: The story of SimilarWeb founder Or Offer. “I’m really a Cinderella story,” says Offer, who got started in business with his parents’ jewelry stores and now heads a company worth $1.8 billion. “You want to quit ten times along the way, but you can not because you know you have to get to the finish line.” Read more
Epsagon stopped lucrative funding round in favor of $500 million Cisco acquisition. The Israeli cloud startup was on the verge of closing a Series B funding round reaching tens of millions of dollars at a $200 million valuation when it received Cisco’s massive bid. Read more
“We experienced a crisis, now we expect a boom.” lool Ventures co-founders believe that good things are ahead for the Israeli tech industry, but warn that “it is important to keep the success in Israel.” Read more
Israeli medical device company Memic to merge with SPAC at more than $1 billion valuation. Memic is set to merge with Nasdaq-traded MedTech Acquisition Corporation, with the combined company expected to hold approximately $360 million in cash. Read more
Cybersecurity in hospitals is unaligned with reality, says report. US
hospital and BioMed executives weigh in on healthcare security in “Perspectives in Healthcare Security Report.” Read more
Talent management platform retrain.ai raises another $7 million. The Israeli startup took its total funding to $20 million at a time when the threat of automation and the global pandemic has had a seismic impact on workers both old and new. Read more
Netflix’s foray into gaming hopes to take on Fortnite. The streaming
service is struggling to get new subscribers, and an attempt to tap into a $160 billion industry might help it maintain its market dominance. Read more
Gilat Telecom is helping bring 4G to Africa from space. Whether it’s
satellite, fiber, or cloud, the telecommunications giant is offering its services to sub-Saharan countries in some of the most remote locations in the world. Read more
Appointments | BLEND appoints a series of senior management positions. The company which provides artificial-intelligence localization services to large and small businesses announced appointments following its recent expansion. Read more
Opinion | Cyberattacks in living rooms have become the new normal. How can we prevent remote work from becoming a hacker’s paradise? Read more
An inside look at Israel’s incubator ecosystem. Whereas accelerators
aim to speed up the process of a company’s growth, incubators are there from their birth. Read more
The startup dilemma: Bet on yourself or take the money. The rising
salaries in the tech sector lower the incentive for some to build new companies. “Many prefer to go to the big corporations and not go on their own.” Read more
Israel’s next frontier: international branding. Move over, fintech.
Deloitte’s purchase of Israel-based Awesome shows how Israel is ready to tackle the creative needs of international players. Read more
The one game Papaya Gaming won’t play. Its games are storming app stores in the U.S, but the Israeli company is looking to grow its portfolio before seeking new funds. Read more
JLL to acquire Skyline AI. The Fortune 500 real estate giant is buying
the Israeli company that processes information for real estate experts using AI and algorithms. Read more
ByondXR announces $7 million Seed round for 3D virtual shopping
experiences. The Israeli startup provides a web-based extended reality (XR) platform that can be used by brand websites to produce virtual environments with the intention to copy physical stores and showrooms. Read more
Yeda announces partnership with Impact NRS to develop environmental solutions for sustainable food sourcing. As part of the agreement, Impact will invest over $12.4 million in newly-formed company Plantae Bioscience to develop nutritious alternative food sources that reduce environmental strains. Read more
Alverno Laboratories selects Ibex’s AI solution for cancer diagnostics. Midwestern medical company will deploy artificial intelligence Galen platform to assist pathologists in improving quality of cancer diagnoses. Read more
Good Company, Strauss Israel, Agoro Carbon Alliance, Smart Agro Fund, and ERB are searching for agritech startups. The companies are looking to partner, invest, and pilot solutions to improve productivity and boost sustainable agriculture. Read more
Opinion | If nothing is trustworthy in cyberspace, does AI even have a chance? “The challenge to embed trust into complex and automated AI-driven processes is a cross-industry phenomenon, as it ultimately stems from AI’s unique and inherent characteristics,” writes Eyal Balicer of Citi. Read more
million Series E. The Israeli company has raised nearly $500 million to date and has seen its valuation surge by $2 billion in six months. Read more
Israel’s Zebra Medical acquired by Nanox for just $200 million. Zebra
was founded in 2014 and was one of the pioneers in the sector of AI-based medical imaging analytics but struggled to translate its technology into sales. Read more
Oracle recruited DoD executive to save its Israel cloud bid. The
software giant brought in Ezra Cohen, former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence under Donald Trump, to try and thwart the tender won by Amazon and Google by pressuring members of Israel’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Read more
Joonko closes $10 million Series A led by Vertex Ventures Israel. The
human resources recruiting startup aims to achieve diversity with its artificial intelligence-powered automated solution. Read more
Tulip raises $100 million led by Insight Partners. The Israeli-founded
company has developed a cloud-based, no-code platform with native edge capabilities that can be used in the operations of a variety of frontline industries including manufacturing, pharma, and warehousing. Read more
Microsoft acquires Israeli company Peer5 to improve live video in
Teams. Hybrid work models are adding extra pressure on bandwidths during large scale meetings. Read more
Startup melodrama: Syte co-founders divorced, and now fired-ex-wife is suing for millions. Ofer Fryman and wife Lihi Pinto-Fryman managed Syte, yet she claims she was unfairly fired due to management failures after her former husband “trampled her reputation.” Syte has rejected the claims, and says the procedure was carried out in a fair and sensitive manner. Read more
CropX acquires Dutch Dacom Farm Intelligence. The agrotech company will benefit from Dacom’s 2.7 million acres and agricultural database it accumulated over decades. CropX CEO: Dacom has been the missing piece in our platform’s puzzle. Read more
Mandiant uncovers Chinese espionage group UNC215’s activity in Israel. “This cyber-espionage activity is happening against the backdrop of China’s multi-billion-dollar investments related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its interest in Israel’s robust technology sector,” read Mandiant’s report. Read more
Opinion | Building a culture of builders with no-code/low-code. “Tech is a superpower. Having a continuous no-code/low-code platform gives that power to everyone,” writes Daniel Lereya, VP R&D and Product at monday.com. Read more
NICE becomes Israel’s highest valued company thanks to cloud revenue spike. The company reached a valuation of around $17 billion following the release of its second-quarter report which showcased a 16% rise in revenue. Read more
Investors, including Bar Refaeli, lost $20 million, but MyCheck
executives will receive bonuses. In 2018, MyCheck investors, among
them the supermodel, businessmen Eitan Wertheimer, Arieh Saban, and Yoav Harlap, lost their investments when the company went bankrupt. Now, its co-founders will receive $6.5 million in bonuses. Read more
Insurtech startup Vesttoo raises $6 million led by Hanaco. The Israeli
company’s latest round comes just four months after it raised $2 million from the Sure-Tech R&D partnership. Read more
“We have to raise the next generation of the technological workforce.” The only woman CEO of a tech company traded on the TASE, Speedvalue co-founder Tali Shem Tov, wants to “challenge existing IT companies.” Read more
BUFF becomes Israel’s first publicly traded gaming company. The
company completed its IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, raising $9.3 million. Read more
Living-room learning: how one startup is improving scholastic
performance. GiantLeap’s interactive game is taking one small step to improve scholastic studies, but one giant leap for improving childhood education in the long term. Read more
Gaming2021 | Overwolf: Game studios must be welcoming towards the gaming community. Speaking at Gaming2021, Overwolf Co-founder and CEO Uri Marchand talks about the shift in gaming culture and how studios can better serve players and developers. Watch full interview
“With Comunix, the idea is to unite people, everywhere.” Speaking at Gaming2021, Comunix’s Co-founder and CEO discusses how its platform helps online communities thrive. Watch full interview
GamesIS predicts the gaming market will “triple itself” in five years.
Speaking at Gaming2021, GameIS Volunteering Chairman Guy Ben-Dov shares how the ecosystem can prepare for its expected growth. Watch full interview
Opinion | Winning may not be everything but sports data certainly
helps. “The global sports arena has experienced enhanced success by
adopting the use of modern techniques to adapt to and keep up with a data-driven world,” writes Omri Orgad of Bright Data. Read more
