CTECH – Latest Israeli Technology and Innovation News
Israeli tech M&As and IPOs reach record $82.4 billion in 2021. According to the PwC Israel High Tech Exit Report, this represents a 520% increase from 2020. With the addition of over $25 billion raised by startups, the total sum entering Israeli tech in 2021 crossed the $100 billion mark. Read more
Noname Security achieves unicorn status, one year after exiting
stealth, with $135 million Series C. The cybersecurity startup, which has raised $220 million to date, analyzes configuration, traffic, and code to identify the broadest set of API vulnerabilities. Read more
UBQ Materials raises $170 million to convert landfill waste into
recyclable plastic substitute. The Israeli company has developed a technology that turns municipal solid waste, including all organics, into a climate-positive plastic alternative. Read more
SQream acquires Israel’s Panoply in $60-70 million deal. By purchasing the no-code cloud data platform, the Israeli company will expand its cloud offering, providing a hybrid data platform to power high scale hybrid environments. Read more
Ermetic closes $70 million Series B for cloud protection platform. The
Israeli startup, which helps prevent breaches by reducing the attack surface of cloud infrastructure, had its round led by Qumra Capital. Read more
Via terminating NYC ride-sharing service to focus on public transit
offering. The Israeli transittech company will stop providing rides in New York from December 20 as part of its increased focus on being a public transit solutions provider. Read more
Playtika leads $10 million Seed investment in Edge Gaming. The Israeli startup has developed a platform which allows any player to generate
“Playables” – custom mini-games that are reproduced from existing
gameplay moments. Read more
Rail cybersecurity company Cylus raises $30 million to protect trains
and metros. The Israeli startup offers a solution that provides continuous monitoring and real-time protection for the global railway industry. Read more
Atmosec raises $6 million in Seed to secure SaaS ecosystems. The startup helps companies overcome the challenge of monitoring risk assessments of new connections from third-party services. Read more
Taiwanese giant Foxconn leads $25 million investment in Israel’s
Powermat. “We raised $25 million from Foxconn and Hudson and expanded
our B round that started in 2015 and continued to this day,” said CEO Elad Dubzinski. Read more
Locals.com and the move to an ‘Ownership Economy’. Dave Rubin’s new
platform aims to help level the playing field for content creators who feel silenced by Big Tech. Read more
Sheba Medical Center startups raise over $110 million in 2021. Its ARC Innovation Center focuses on digital health technologies including precision medicine, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and more. Read more
Appointments | BreezoMeter appoints Paul Walsh as General-Manager in North America. The weather industry veteran will help expand the role that environmental data and insights play in product development and
business forecasting by companies in the healthcare, insurance, smart
home, and automotive industries. Read more
CTalk | Melio’s mission to tackle a $14 trillion problem. Speaking at the Unicorn Forum, Matan Bar, Co-Founder and CEO of Melio, discusses how to digitize the payments process for millions of Americans. Watch full video
How did Lightricks’ CFO adjust to the private sector? Speaking at the
Unicorn Forum, Shaul Meridor, CFO of Lightricks, discusses the move from the public sector to the private sector. Watch full video
Guardio raises $47 million led by Tiger Global for cybersecurity
browser extension. The Israeli startup, which was bootstrapped for its first three years and has nearly one million people using its product every day, is estimated to be valued at $500 million. Read more
Cloud security startup Dazz raises $50 million. The cybersecurity company is expected to more than triple its workforce. “Even before writing a single line of code, our team worked closely with customers,” said CEO Merav Bahat. Read more
Execs share what it takes to be a tech CEO. Management from the Israeli tech sector share some of their insights and how they became top of their field. Read more
Israel’s First Digital Bank secures $120 million Series A at $320
million valuation. The Israeli AI-based digital bank has secured investments led by renowned Swiss wealth management group Julius Baer, Japanese financial conglomerate SBI, and China-based technology company Tencent. Read more
Mesh Payments secures $50 million in B round led by Tiger Global. The payments management platform is expected to recruit dozens of new
employees. CEO Oded Zehavi said “this is a very exciting time as we experience rapid growth.” Read more
Reposify raises $8.5 million Seed round to manage exposed
internet-facing assets. The Israeli cybersecurity startup’s platform enables security teams to detect, prioritize, and manage all exposed internet-facing assets that are centralized or remote across on-premise, subsidiary, cloud, or third-party assets. Read more
“It’s time we think outside the box about those four walls.” Said Or
Bokobza, co-founder and CEO of Venn, at the real estate executive conference organized by Calcalist and Poalim Bank. “How come only 5,000 out of 750,000 units on Israel’s rent market can be rented for the long term? Read more
Joint Israel-China event aims to improve tech ties between the two
nations. The purpose of the 7th China Yunnan-Israel Innovation Cooperation Forum was to help establish relationships between Israeli and Chinese companies. Read more
A Day in a Life | Laguna Health’s horseback rider coding for the
greater good. Gili Carmon, a Full-stack developer at Laguna Health, forgets all her troubles when she’s riding, but when at work she feels incredible knowing that she is playing a role in making someone else healthier. Read more
Appointments | Tetavi hires two former Warner Bros. Entertainment
senior executives. The Israeli new media and technology startup named
Anuraj Goonetilleke as Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer and Bonnka Lim as Chief Marketing Officer. Read more
Saffron-Tech appoints Tal Wilk-Glazer as CEO. A former Salesforce
Regional Director of Eastern Europe, Africa, and Israel, Wilk-Glazer has helped large companies with digital transformation. The agritech company develops a unique automated system for growing saffron. Read more
CTalk | Tipalti raised $270 million – now what? Speaking at Calcalist’s Unicorn Forum, Chen Amit, Co-Founder and CEO of Tipalti discussed plans after its latest funding round. Watch full video
Microsoft: “The innovation in Israel is mindblowing.” Speaking at the
Unicorns Forum, Idit Gazit Berger, Digital Native Lead at Microsoft shares what makes Startup Nation so unique. Watch full video
Israeli startups raise record $25.4 billion in first 11 months of 2021. A report by Start-Up Nation Central showed that the number of companies that reached a $1 billion valuation and gained Unicorn status more than doubled, with 33 new Unicorns being born this year, taking Israel’s total to 53. Read more
Games-focused fund vgames raises $141 million. Since the launch of
vgames by Eitan Reisel in March 2020, the fund has invested in 21 companies globally, making it one of the most active game funds in the world. Read more
2021: What lessons can CEOs share this year? CTech was joined by executives who shared some important lessons learned as they operated
their companies. Read more
Lynx MD raises $12 million Seed funding for AI healthcare data platform. The Israeli startup’s sandboxed environment allows users to access massive amounts of real-world medical data and facilitates decisions using data science and AI. Read more
Super-Wolt: Delivery platform launching grocery service in Tel Aviv.
The Finnish company will set up dark stores from which grocery deliveries will be sent to customers’ homes. Read more
Appointments | BioCatch appoints Gili Brudno as Chief People Officer. Brudno joins the behavioral biometrics company, which has raised $215 million to date, from SAP where she most recently served as Vice
President of Human Resources for Global Services Sales. Read more
Unicorn Forum | “We choose people over valuations.” So said Matan Bar, co-founder and CEO of Melio, which streamlines digital payments for
businesses. “We were in the right place at the right time, and during the pandemic we became the payment company with the fastest growth rate in the U.S.” Read more
“Expand the tech circle from Rothschild Boulevard to Sderot, Tiberias, and Umm al-Fahm.” Said Calcalist Publisher Yoel Esteron at the Unicorn Forum, before inviting Ifat Bechor, CEO of Unistream, to the stage to
discuss ways to empower youth from Israel’s periphery. Read more
How Duality Technologies helps institutions share data safely. At
Calcalist’s Unicorn Forum, Rina Shainski, Chairwoman and Co-Founder of Duality Technologies, spoke about how companies can share sensitive data safely. Watch full video
“Bringing in people from peripheral communities will help close
socioeconomic gaps.” So said Chen Amit, co-founder and CEO of Tipalti
during Calcalist and Discount Tech’s Unicorn Forum in Tel Aviv. The fintech company is looking to recruit those with minimal representation in the high tech industry whether ultra-Orthodox, women, or Arabs. “It will help us in the long run.” Read more
“More major companies are making bets on content creators and small influencers.” Speaking at Calcalist’s Unicorn Forum, Ira Belsky,
Co-Founder and co-CEO of Artlist spoke about the content creation
world online. Watch full video
Cultured meat startup Future Meat raising $320 million round at $600 million valuation. The foodtech company plans to use the funds to
build a manufacturing plant in the U.S., aiming to bring its products to shelves in 2022. Read more
Analysis | Is eToro still worth $10 billion? The trading platform will not complete its SPAC merger by the end of the year, which means investors can withdraw their funds. Will the Israeli company have to slash its valuation? Read more
Unicorn Forum | “Panic for growth leads companies to non-strategic
acquisitions.” So said Hila Himi-Alpert, CEO of Discount Capital Markets, during Calcalist and Discount Tech’s Unicorn Forum, noting that several Israeli technology companies acquire startups out of a need to prove rapid growth but don’t pause to think about the long-term effects. “When the markets decline, those companies will suddenly find it hard to justify their valuation.” Read more
Bright Data CEO: “We have crossed $100 million in annual revenue.” “We acquired three companies from the money in our account without requiring any external funding just this year,” said Or Lenchner, speaking on a panel with Gong CEO Amit Bendov, Immunai CEO Noam Solomon and Hailo’s Hadar Zeitlin. Read more
“My challenge at SoftBank is to find the next unicorn,” says former
Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen. The new head of SoftBank investment advisers said the Japanese conglomerate is expecting him to significantly increase its involvement in the Israeli startup market. Read more
“Microsoft to roll out new program that will accompany startups at
every stage.” Said Ronit Atad, the Country General Manager of Microsoft Israel during Calcalist and Discount Tech’s Unicorn Forum, lauding the importance of trust between consumer and company. “Microsoft will maintain a connection to the cloud through powerful engines. Data is your most important product, we won’t use or compete with it.” Read more
“It isn’t fun to talk about what happens after a fundraising round,
but it needs to be done.” Said Adv. Nimrod Vromen, Managing Partner at
the Yigal Arnon & Co. law offices and CEO of the consulting firm Consiglieri Ltd during Calcalist and Discount Tech’s Unicorn Forum. “At first, there’s this feeling of loneliness; and then comes the panic and anxiety – how can we justify the valuation?” Read more
“Companies with a real product are the ones we will see in the
long-term.” Said Shaul Meridor, CFO of Lightricks, at a panel with Philippe Bouaziz, Deel CFO, Aaron Mankovski of Pitango, Qumra’s Boaz Dinte, and Dr. Guy Navon, Director of Discount Tech Capital, during the Calcalist and Discount Tech Unicorn Forum. Read more
“Banks can no longer ignore the high-tech industry’s tremendous
impact.” Discount Bank CEO Uri Levin wants the banking and high-tech industries to better cooperate. “It was difficult for these worlds to connect – but this situation cannot continue.” Read more
Appointments | Kryon appoints Tomer Zuker as Chief Marketing Officer. Zuker, who has worked at AWS, IBM, and Microsoft, will help Kyron
Systems increase its market share as the demand for AI-driven automation grows. Read more
Opinion | What will 2022 bring in the DevOps world? JFrog’s Chief Data
Scientist, CTO and CTO Security give their predictions for the upcoming year for their ever evolving sector. Read more
High tech is turning a blind eye to transgender employees. Employee
harassment, being passed over for positions and promotions, and micro-aggression in the cafeteria: Although the high tech industry is considered progressive, it’s still an exclusive men’s club for transgender employees. Read more
Joule Ventures announces new $65 million fund, rebranding from Janvest Capital Partners. The VC’s new fund has already invested in the likes of Mirato, an AI-driven TPRM platform for financial institutions, Rupert, a data analyst backlog management solution, and Arnica, a stealth-mode DevSecOps startup. Read more
Nanit’s baby-cam can help new parents finally sleep easy. Its smart
baby monitor acts as a sleep coach, growth tracker, and digital baby book for newborns. Read more
“Large global food-focused companies are looking to Israel for
acquisition and investment opportunities.” American investment bank
Stifel opened a representative office in Tel Aviv at the end of 2019, just prior to the markets being shaken up by the coronavirus. Since then, the bank has been involved in over 40 transactions involving Israeli companies totaling over $22 billion in aggregate value. “The capital raises of Israeli companies in foodtech can jump 10-fold to large raises of $100-300 million,” said Vice Chairman of the bank, Ben Plotkin. Read more
Medical device startup TruLeaf receives funding to fight heart
condition. The startup is developing a Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement solution to treat Mitral Regurgitation. Read more
Roadshow 2021 | BioMeat: “Protein cannot come only from animals
anymore.” At the Poalim Hi-Tech and Calcalist Road Show, CEO of BioMeat Gilles Gamon explained why he’s banking on foodtech. Watch full video
How does Montfort Brain Monitor bring neurology monitoring to our
home? Co-founder and CTO of Montfort Brain Monitor, Dima Gershman, discussed neurology and telehealth at the Poalim Hi-Tech and Calcalist Road Show. Watch full video
Appointments | SafeBreach hires new Chief Information Security
Officer. Following its Series D round, Avishai Avivi was named as CISO to support the company’s growth. Read more
Opinion | The education technology dilemma – how to penetrate a
resistant market? Succeeding in edtech may take more than innovative
technology, excellent user interface, or proven academic progression. Read more
