CTECH – Latest Israeli Technology and Innovation News
Cybersecurity startup Axonius raises $200 million at $2.6 billion valuation. The Israeli company said it could be ready for an initial public offering within two years. Read more
Israel’s high tech industry facing harsh reality of female underrepresentation. Only 9.4% of startups were founded by women, who account for only 20% of senior management positions in companies and 16.5% of partner roles at funds investing in Israeli high tech. “It will take a long time before these gaps close,” says Innovation Authority head. Read more
Boarding Pass | “We plan on being a one-stop shop for every department in any business.” FORTVISION has raised $850,000 for its CRM to help customers make smarter business decisions. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Examining an essential read for women in the workforce. Shiri Mosenzon-Erez, VP Solution Design at Fabric, shares insights after reading “Power, for All: How It Really Works and Why It’s Everyone’s Business” by Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro. Read more
Major weapons show in Tel Aviv expecting record attendance amid Ukraine-Russia war. The exhibition, the first in Israel since the pandemic began, is expected to draw 4,500 international guests, but the Russians are unlikely to come. Read more
SatixFy to merge with SPAC at $813 million valuation. The Israeli company designs its own chips, codes its own software and builds its own modem and digital beamforming antenna products that it then sells to satellite industry players. Read more
Private information of Israeli Air Force pilots allegedly leaked on darknet by hackers. Israeli cybersecurity company Varonis alerted the Israeli National Cyber Directorate after discovering the list, and the latter brought in the IDF to check and verify the information. Read more
Appointments | Fundbox hires new Chief Risk Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief People Officer. The appointment of the former Capital One, Visa and Condé Nast executives comes on the back of the
company’s $100 million funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation. Read more
Out of the Bubble | How can Nazareth become a tech ecosystem like Tel Aviv? Co-Founder at Alpha Omega Reem Younis joins CTech to share how periphery cities like Nazareth can match high-tech goliaths like Tel Aviv. Watch full video
Nazareth’s high tech scene is having a “tremendous impact on the society.” Hatem Yazbek, Technical Director at Broadcom, describes the impact that tech has on the Arab city when speaking to CTech for its Out of the Bubble series. Watch full video
Startup Nation’s pre-Seed challenge. Guy Katsovich, Founding Partner at Fusion, speaks to CTech about investment trends and the blurring lines of investment rounds. Read more
Oribi to fire employees following LinkedIn acquisition. A week after being acquired by LinkedIn for $90 million, Oribi is firing most of its teams that work with clients, including many marketing, sales, and customer support staff. Read more
Fintech and crypto investments surge in 2021. According to a KPMG report, $210 billion was invested globally in fintech in 2021, showing a 68% leap from the previous year. Investments in cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies leapt more than fivefold to $30 billion. Read more
HopOn acquires Germany’s TAFmobile to continue European expansion. TAFMobile provides payment solutions to public transport in Germany. This move, estimated at several million euros, joins the $10 million
acquisition of British company ECR last August. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: 1984 – an entrepreneur’s warning about privacy. Natalie Noy, GC & VP Corporate Development at Bookaway, shares insights after reading “1984” by George Orwell. Read more
“Putin is using Iran for his cyber warfare.” “Russia and China will continue to be forces that will cause a lot of trouble in the Western world as agents of chaos, but in the end people are looking for freedom – so the situation will change for the better,” says cyber expert Morgan Wright, Chief Security Advisor at Israeli cyber unicorn SentinelOne. Read more
Opinion | Do you really need to spend so many resources on your KPI’s? “With multiple tools and too many integrations, companies forget the
goal they are after. Unfortunately, the main interest is to use the tools that everyone uses with the thought that if it’s right for them, then it must be right for us,” writes Ran Zussman of SeaLights. Read more
Opinion | Corporate responsibility to women empowerment: an essential part of doing business. “A company cannot hold a true concept of corporate responsibility without the issues of promoting women, empowering, and nurturing them, being inherently and deeply integrated within its conduct, consciously and while setting a living and lasting personal example,” writes Ilia Rigas of Energean. Read more
Opinion | 4 ways the war in Europe will change global tech. How might the war between Russia and Ukraine affect the global tech ecosystem in
case of a protracted conflict, asks Dan Fishel of OurCrowd. Read more
Connecteam raises $120 million for deskless workforce management platform. The Israeli company’s Series C funding comes on the back of a very successful year in which it increased its annual revenue and number of clients by 400%. Read more
From Russia with Money: Amid Ukraine invasion investors look toward Israel. Panic-stricken wealthy Russian Jews, many of whom have already fled in private planes or on yachts for homes abroad, are realizing
that Israel is an attractive and important investment option. Read more
Propel raises $4.5 million in Seed for its earned media management platform. Earned media is the fastest-growing channel in the marketing mix due to the need for brand credibility and rising ad costs. Read more
Tastewise secures $17 million in Series A to bring AI to the food and beverage industry. Using AI, the company predicted the rise of trends that have influenced eating and drinking during the pandemic. Read more
Israeli-U.S. consortium dishes out $12 million to protect critical infrastructure against cyberattacks. The consortium, led by the BIRD Foundation and Ben-Gurion University, will allocate funding toward developing new technologies for protecting infrastructure. Read more
nSure.ai raises $13 million for fraud prevention platform. The Israeli startup claims that its fraud protection intelligence reduces decline rates by 90%, using merchant-specific data to approve up to 98% of transactions. Read more
Jerusalem VC Champel Capital raises $30 million for second fund. The fund, which invests in local deep-tech companies, has announced the closure of its first round of funding for its second fund. “We strive to invest in companies led by amazing entrepreneurs, capable of developing companies with products and services that meet real needs in large and growing markets.” Read more
Opinion | What’s between a vaccine, the most common smartphone processor, and autonomous vehicles. “When you pitch your idea, every investor you meet will either ask you or themselves “Why now?” and the answer will typically not be because this is the first time in history someone came up with this phenomenal idea. It will be because social, technological, and regulatory circumstances have only now materialized to enable it,” writes Renana Ashkenazi of Grove Ventures. Read more
Opinion | When high-tech meets low-tech. Technology should be everywhere, yet some industries are lagging behind when it comes to adopting innovation. Read more
Appointments | BioCatch promotes Eyran Blumberg to Chief Operating Officer. Blumberg previously served as Vice President of Solutions at BioCatch and replaces Gadi Mazor after he was promoted to CEO. Read more
Fintech startup Finaro acquired by Shift4 for $575 million. The acquiring company, Shift4, is headed by Jared Isaacman, Elon Musk’s partner in the SpaceX project. Read more
Intel Inside: CEO shares his plans to restoring the chip giant’s supremacy. A year after taking over the helm, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger sees Israel as a key piece of the puzzle. Read more
Property technology company Veev raises $400 million, reaches unicorn status. The Israeli startup’s system leverages a proprietary panelized approach to produce fully cladded walls, complete with mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing (MEP). Read more
GoTo Global receives $5 million strategic investment from ASTARA. GoTo Global has 5,800 vehicles on the road that have been accessed by 450,000 users totaling almost 3 million rides. Read more
Despite Russia-Ukraine tensions, Axiom Space mission is “ready to fly.” “Ax-1 is really a path finder for new commercial opportunities in low-Earth orbit, and the research will lead to space exploration becoming fully commercial,” says Axiom Space Director. Read more
XRHealth secures $10 million to bring healthcare treatment to the Metaverse. The economic opportunity of virtual healthcare reaches a possible trillion-dollar market. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Creating tech products customers love. Rotem Lambez, Head of Product at Insoundz, shares insights after reading “Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love” by Marty Cagan. Read more
Opinion | Tips for finding a strategic partner in the U.S. A strategic partnership leverages companies’ talent and resources for mutual commercial benefit. Read more
LinkedIn to acquire Israeli marketing analytics company Oribi for $80 million. The world’s largest professional network is making its first acquisition of an Israeli company and will open a new center in Tel Aviv. Read more
Cyberstarts raises $200 million to double down on its Seed companies. The new Opportunity Fund will focus on follow-on investments in the cybersecurity-focused VC’s portfolio companies that are raising Series
A and Series B. Read more
OpenWeb: “We do the dirty job of the internet – we clean it.” The Israeli unicorn uses machine learning and AI to detect hate speech in internet comment sections while promoting healthy conversations. Read more
DNA sequencing giant Illumina to establish Center of Excellence in Israel. Illumina’s presence in Tel Aviv will focus on AI-driven interpretation technology. Read more
Boarding Pass | Selectika sets sights on solving personalization challenges in eCommerce. The company, which develops a visual AI and personalization system, recently received a $500,000 pre-Seed round.
Read more
Visionary.AI receives additional $2.5 million funding for its AI in cameras. The funding is in addition to its $4.5 million from February 2021, bringing its total Seed round to $7 million. Read more
Fintech unicorn Melio appoints Tomer Barel as COO. A former Meta and PayPal senior executive, Barel succeeds Ziv Paz, one of the company’s founders who retired last year. Read more
Otonomo to acquire connected insurance provider The Floow for up to $69 million. The Israeli company’s cloud native platform uses artificial intelligence, sensor data and behavioral pattern mapping to provide insights needed to optimize vehicle insurance, emergency services, mapping, and more. Read more
Appointments | HR-tech startup Compete appoints four new C-level executives. The startup has appointed four executives – three of whom are women – to lead its sales, human resources, product, and information security teams. Read more
Appointments | Roundforest appoints Liat Ben-Rafael as VP of Marketing. The shopping recommendation company is helping over 50 million people per month make purchasing decisions every year of over $1 billion. Read more
Opinion | The significance of AI-integrated procurement in an era of uncertainty. “Only organizations that adopt the required agility will withstand the storm and see it as an opportunity and leverage for fulfillment, development, and growth,” writes Boaz Gilad, founder and CEO of BizWatch. Read more
