CTECH – Latest Israeli Technology and Innovation News Jan. 12, 2022
Pentera becomes Israel’s latest cybersecurity unicorn with $150
million Series C. The company, formerly known as Pcysys, was valued at
$1 billion in its latest round. Read more
Quris closes record $28 million Seed funding for AI drug development platform. The Israeli startup uses AI-powered miniaturized
“patients-on-a-chip” to avoid the risks and costs of failed clinical trials and eliminate the reliance on ineffective animal testing. Read more
Fintech giant Brex eyeing additional Israeli acquisitions. “We are
certainly planning to go shopping in the country,” Brex CEO Henrique Dubugras told Calcalist following the company’s announcement that it has raised an additional $300 million at a $12.3 billion valuation. Read more
“The number one trait founders have is resilience.” Speaking at a special event organized by The Sunset Series and CTech, Grove Ventures’ Renana Ashkenazi spoke about the venture capital space in Israel. Read more
Appointments | Apiiro appoints Eldan Ben-Haim as Chief Architect
Officer. Ben-Haim joins Apiiro from Israeli cybersecurity unicorn Transmit Security where he was the Chief Technology Officer for the past six years. Read more
“Late-night meetings prevent parents or mothers from being part of a company.” Women comprise 30% of the high tech industry, but at some
companies that figure is over 50%. “We created optimal conditions from the start that are suitable for working parents, and that drew plenty of women to our company,” said HoneyBook Israel manager. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Setting the foundations for a successful career.
Dana Poleg, CMO at Five Sigma, shares insights after reading “The First 90 Days” by Michael D. Watkins. Read more
Opinion | 10 common legal mistakes made by startups. “It would be wise to take a moment and call attention to mistakes entrepreneurs at the
beginning of their journey commonly make,” writes Adv. Daniel Behar from GBK law firm. Read more
Despite boom, Israeli tech remains tainted by female
underrepresentation. A study by the Power in Diversity initiative,
which examined 424 startups and 70 VC funds, found that the average
percentage of women represented in the companies under study was 33%.
Read more
MeMed raises $93 million to translate the immune system. The Israeli
company recently received FDA approval for its MeMed BV test to help healthcare providers distinguish between bacterial and viral infections. Read more
CADY raises $3 million to develop automatic PCB inspections. The
company uses AI for automatic PCB design inspections, helping detect
errors at early stages. Read more
Appointments | Perimeter 81 welcomes new VPs Lital Parush-David and Tal Laufer. The pair are joining the company from Amdocs and Check
Point to serve as VP HR and VP Product. Read more
TAU launches satellite to protect space systems against radiation. The
“COTS-Capsule” within the TauSat-3 is one of the 43 experiments that the next Israeli astronaut will test on his mission to the International Space Station next month, after it successfully docked on Sunday. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Examining the methods to our madness. Hanan
Zakai, VP of Customers & Division Manager at CodeValue, shares insights after reading “You’re About to Make a Terrible Mistake” by Olivier Sibony. Read more
Opinion | AI won’t replace psychologists, it will only make them
better. “The application of machine learning models and AI in behavioral therapies is an innovative field that is evolving rapidly, with the potential to significantly improve initial assessment, ongoing progress monitoring, and clinical outcomes,” writes Dr. Shiri Sadeh-Sharvit of Eleos Health. Read more
Japanese investments in Israeli startups reach record $2.9 billion in
2021. This marks a 190% leap compared to 2020. The number of investments also rose – 85 compared to 63 the year prior. Japanese investments accounted for 15.8% of all foreign investments in Israel, and since 2000, Japanese companies have invested a total of $13 billion. Read more
Addon Optics raises $12 million for multifocal lenses platform. The
Israeli startup’s platform integrates an off-the-shelf single-focal lens with a proprietary flexible lens to create a high-quality progressive lens, using a machine the size of a 3D printer. Read more
VC Good Company and partners seeking mobility startups for new
mission. The selected startups have the potential to receive a $500,000 investment from Good Company, as well as $1 million from Mobilion Ventures. Read more
Israel awards nearly $6 million in grants to space tech startups. From
growing super-vegetables in space to taking high-resolution images of oil spills, 11 Israeli companies that develop innovative space technologies will receive the grant. “It’s a tremendous economic growth engine,” said D-G of Israel Space Agency. Read more
ProfiSea Labs raises $2 million in Seed to visualize assets for
CloudOps industry. The company claims it can help customers save up to
90% of their cloud spendings and is already supported by AWS. Read more
Study: Transgenders earn less, feel uncomfortable at work. A new study conducted in the United States by the consulting company McKinsey,
reveals that most transgender people are not comfortable being out in
professional interactions. “The professional environment in Tel Aviv is very friendly to the LGBTQ+ community, but it’s still new to the discourse about transgenders.” Read more
Fighting fires with technology. With the flick of a button, Telefire’s sophisticated fire control panels in smart buildings can contact firefighters, fight off cyberattackers, and alert people to evacuate. Read more
Crypto entrepreneur Hogeg sued by his former forex firm invest.com.
Invest Dot Com (Israel), which was previously controlled by Hogeg but is currently undergoing a liquidation process, claims that Hogeg still controls its parent company, IDC Investdotcom Holdings, which is registered in Cyprus, and that it owes it almost $2 million. Read more
Appointments | Swimm expands leadership team with new R&D leader and two promotions. Eyal Ittah joins the company as VP R&D and Gal Barel and Chen Mor Veiber have been promoted to two executive positions. Read more
BiblioTech | CTech’s Book Review: Understanding the 6 critical
questions for leadership teams. Micha Breakstone Co-Founder and CEO of
Neuralight.ai, shares insights after reading “The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business” by Patrick
Lencioni. Read more
Opinion | The lonely but critical existence of the VC content marketer. A highly competitive market, vague KPIs, and the road less traveled. Read more
Former Goldman Sachs execs launching $300 million tech growth fund. The fund, Key 1 Capital, was set up by Sarel Eldor, Danny Akerman and
Amit Pilowsky, who all left Goldman Sachs over recent months, and is
planning to invest between $20-40 million per company. Read more
Grove Ventures raises $185 million fund for early-stage startups. The
Israeli fund will focus on domains such as edge computing, cloud infrastructure, data infrastructure and management, developers’ tools and software, DevOps, AI and automation. Read more
WEKA announces $73 million Series D for data platform for AI. The
Israeli startup has developed a data platform for AI/ML, life sciences research, and high-performance computing (HPC). Read more
VC theDOCK raises initial $10 million of targeted $30 million for
maritime-tech fund. The fund will focus on early-stage startups developing technologies to help revolutionize ports, shipping, supply chain, and offshore sectors and will target both Israeli and international companies. Read more
“NFT is an immense black hole completely overlooked by the law
enforcement agencies.” NFT entrepreneurs and artists who attended the
NFT Conference held by Pearl Cohen Law Firm and Tel Aviv University believe the craze will not subside anytime soon. Read more
“The Metaverse can revolutionize education, employment.” Nvidia’s
Richard Kerris is certain the Metaverse will reach every aspect of our lives. “There is potential for hundreds of billions of dollars.” Read more
Appointments | REE Automotive appoints David Goldberg as Chief
Financial Officer. Goldberg joins the Israeli company from Magna International, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers. Read more
Appointments | StageOne Ventures appoints Nate Meir as new Partner. The announcement comes at the same time as the launch of a new $235 million fund. Read more
BiblioTech | CTech’s Book Review: A sensitive parody about race and
identity in the U.S. Zahi Kapeluto, AVP Research Technology Management
at AT&T Israel R&D Center, shares insights after reading “The White Boy Shuffle” by Paul Beatty. Read more
Google acquiring cybersecurity startup Siemplify for $500 million. The Israeli company will form the basis for Google’s cyber operations in the country and will be part of the tech giant’s cloud activity. Read more
Fast-charging battery startup StoreDot hits $1.5 billion valuation in
Series D. The Israeli company has so far raised $60 million in the round, led by VinFast, and is still hoping to bring onboard additional auto giants. Read more
Animal-free dairy startup Remilk raises $120 million Series B at $325
million valuation. The Israeli company, which has developed a method of producing animal-free dairy products through microbial fermentation, has seen its valuation surge tenfold in just one year. Read more
StageOne Ventures raises $235 million for fourth fund. The Israeli VC,
which took its assets under management to $500 million, plans to invest $150 million in early-stage Israeli startups, with an additional $85 million being allocated to follow-on investments. Read more
Netflix executive reveals what it’s really like to work at the company. Jessica Neal, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, explains why it’s better to give employees freedom, why the company should’ve given more positive feedback, and discussed its infamous “keeper test”. Read more
Gigi Levy: “Even if there will be valuation bumps, I am super-bullish
about the tech industry’s continued growth.” Leading Israeli VC executives estimate that while there may be some painful challenges ahead, the positive trends in the market and flow of investments are not expected to stop. Some even think the best is yet to come. Read more
SafeBreach: “Hackers keep finding ways because everything evolves.” Edo Yahav, SafeBreach’s VP of R&D, joins CTech to discuss how the platform prevents attacks on enterprises. Read more
Israel’s Ministry of Health takes its Covid-19 wastewater project
nationwide. Kando has been conducting research in the country’s sewer
systems since 2020. Read more
CTech’s Book Review: Learning to take the driver’s seat in life. Lior
Mozel, Chief Engineering Officer at Cybereason, shares insights after reading “The Meaning Revolution” by Fred Kofman. Read more
