CTECH – The Latest Israeli Innovation and Technology News
Israeli gaming startup CrazyLabs acquired by Sweden’s Embracer Group. CrazyLabs was the third most downloaded publisher in all mobile games in 2020 with over 4.5 billion downloads and over 110 million monthly active users. Read more
Apollo Global Management in negotiations with Hutchinson to acquire Israeli telco Partner. Hong Kong-based Hutchison has been in talks for over six months with Apollo, one of the world’s biggest investment companies which had $455 billion in assets under management as of the start of 2021. Read more
Israel National Cyber Directorate warns of critical vulnerabilities in
equipment used in energy and industrial sectors. The vulnerabilities
were discovered in a TCP/IP Stack called NicheStack that is included in a large number of operational components, including Siemens controllers. Read more
HackerU acquires Cybint for $50 million to create a global education
group. The company will be rebranding as ThriveDX to help close the
worldwide digital skills gap. Read more
AgroScout raises $7.5 million to expand AI-based agronomy analytics service. The Israeli startup’s platform collects data to create analytics for actionable insights in crop management. Read more
Gaming2021 | “Innovation comes with lots of difficulties, but also
lots of benefits.” Speaking with CTech at Gaming2021, Gigantic’s CEO Ron Brightman talks about the skepticism that comes with innovation. Read more
The ‘gamification’ of dancing is here. Speaking at Gaming2021,
Co-Founder and CEO Inbal Lavi discusses how Woah Edutainment uses gamification to teach dance moves. Read more
Israeli startup’s algorithms automatically validate images captured by hardhat-mounted 360° cameras, detecting any gaps between the original design, scheduling and the reality on the site. Read more
Localize raises $25 million Series C amid founder turmoil. The Israeli
startup has developed a data and AI-driven platform that is combined with human experience to help buyers and brokers in the real estate market. Read more
Capitolis acquiring LMRKTS for over $50 million. The Israeli fintech
startup is expanding after raising a $90 million Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz in March. Read more
Append Medical announces a $7.4 million Series A to help with its
first clinical trial. Append Medical develops the Appligator, a tool that is designed to reduce stroke risk in patients. Read more
Lendlord raises $2 million for customized financing for real estate
investors. The company, which offers data and financial services to real estate investors, will use the capital to further develop its platform and expand its operations globally. Read more
Samsung to collaborate with Israeli eSports gaming team. The Korean tech giant will partner with Team Finest by sponsoring activities on social networks, competitions, events, and more. Read more
Renovai secures $3.7 million in funding in seed round. The Israeli
interior design startup’s round was led by Canadian tech fund Verstra Ventures and co-led by Australia’s leading retailer Temple & Webster. Read more
STOREE completes $8 million seed round for retail store management. The startup uses artificial intelligence to optimize store performance. Funds will be used to expand the company’s operations in Israel and abroad. Read more
Gaming2021 | Where are Israelis watching famous gaming streamers? CTech spoke to Meital (AKA ‘RainbowQueen’) about finding an audience on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Watch full interview
ironSource: hypercasual games are “here to stay.” Speaking at
Gaming2021, ironSource’s co-founder and CRO Omer Kaplan discusses hypercasual gaming and their impact on the gaming industry. Watch full interview
Rapyd raises $300 million at record $10 billion valuation. The Israeli
fintech company became the highest-valued private tech company in the history of Israel, overtaking Gong which raised $250 million at a $7.25 billion valuation two months ago. Read more
Hippo loses $192 million in funding right before SPAC merger, keeps $5 billion valuation. The insurtech company, which begins trading on Wall Street Tuesday, lost a third of the capital it was planned to receive from Linkedin and Zynga founders’ SPAC as investors withdrew funds. Read more
Israeli cybersecurity startups star in Black Unicorn Awards. Noname
Security was named in the Top 10 Black Unicorn list announced by Cyber Defense Magazine, while fellow Israeli cybersecurity companies NanoLock, Adaptive Shield, XM Cyber and Siemplify were all named on the Top 10 Baby Black Unicorn list. Read more
Lendlord raises $2 million for customized financing for real estate
investors. The company, which offers data and financial services to real estate investors, will use the capital to further develop its platform and expand its operations globally. Read more
Cybereason exposes Chinese threat actors that compromise
telecommunication providers. The findings were outlined in a report
that highlighted attack trends to leverage third-party service providers. Read more
Gaming2021 | CrazyLabs shares what makes hypercausal gaming so
appealing. “It grows much faster than any other gaming genre,” Founder and CEO Sagi Schliesser said at Gaming2021. Watch full interview
Google Israel identifies 4 trends in gaming on YouTube. It was a year like no other, and Google’s Head of Data and Measurement Solutions joined CTech to share how the pandemic changed gaming on the video platform. Watch full interview
Yotpo heading to Nasdaq at $2.5 billion valuation. The Israeli
marketing service company will be aiming to raise $400-500 million in its IPO. Read more
MyHeritage to acquire 90% of French company Filae for over $35
million. This marks the 12th acquisition by the Israel-based genealogy company, which was acquired itself for $600 million by U.S. private equity giant Francisco Partners earlier this year. Read more
SoftBank a big believer in Israeli high-tech, says former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen. In his first public speech since becoming the head of SoftBank’s investment operations in Israel, Cohen told the Calcalist National Economic Conference that the local tech ecosystem is “21st century Zionism at its best.” Read more
Spotlight | Sustainable skim: making dairy lactose-free, sans cows.
Remilk produces artificially-engineered dairy milk in a lab, that has zero cholesterol, lactose, hormones or antibiotics yet still tastes like milk, all without the cows. Read more
Google’s upcoming plans for Israel: a server farm and fiber optics
network. After being awarded the government tender for cloud computing, Google is expanding its Israel operations. Calcalist has learned that will include a server farm in the Sharon region and an ultra-high speed fiber network, in addition to its subsea cables linking Europe to Israel. Read more
Deep Instinct identifies top 5 ransomware attacks in the first half of
2021. Mid-year threat landscape report has highlighted some of the ways that organizations and individuals are at risk online. Read more
NSO Chairman to employees: Company ownership will not change,
“continue to do the important things you do.” In a letter obtained by
Calcalist, Asher Levy, the chairman of the company behind the controversial spyware Pegasus, wrote that investors chose to replace the managing body of the fund that owns NSO. Read more
RealView Imaging expands Series C to $15 million, receives FDA
clearance for holographic system. Lowy Medical Research Institute,
Rami Ungar and Judith and Kobi Richter were among the investors in the
Israeli medtech startup’s latest funding round. Read more
Just like home: Screen iL will offer Israelis abroad access to leading
local television content. The new streaming service, which was co-founded by Israeli media leader Moshe Edri, will cost $19.99 per month. Read more
Gaming2021 | Google: Israel has doubled its market share in the gaming industry post-pandemic. Speaking at Gaming2021, Google Israel’s Managing Director Barak Regev discusses how Israel is becoming a gaming powerhouse on a global scale. Read more
Appointments | JFrog appoints Sagi Dudai as EVP of Product and
Engineering. The seasoned technology leader will fuel the company’s global R&D, continued growth, and spearhead accelerated DevOps innovation. Read more
Opinion | The war on democracy has not ended. Coronavirus can’t be an excuse for delaying the treatment of the underlying problems in Israeli society. Read more
Opinion | The rise of MLOPs and what VCs should keep an eye for. “We are in the very early phase of the machine learning revolution,” writes Nate Meir of StageOne Ventures. “MLOps is intended to be the thread that ties the entire ML lifecycle together.” Read more
The new nomads who left Israel but kept their jobs. An adventure, cost of living, and even the pandemic gave the needed motivation to these Israelis to relocate around the world while keeping their local positions. Read more
“SPAC mergers are like a bank loan, they are given to those who do not need it.” With its chips being installed in Mercedes among others, Valens Semiconductor is gearing up for an October SPAC merger at a $1.16 billion valuation. Read more
Saving lives one smartwatch at a time. CardiacSense’s smartwatches monitor heart rates and arrhythmias. Its next project? Preventing the next heart attack. Read more
Inside Spike’s ‘bombastic’ vision to reinvent email. Billions of emails are sent each day, but Dvir Ben-Aroya is determined to modernize a tool seen as outdated by the young. Read more
Israeli tech delegation led by Erel Margalit to establish Innovation
Center in Paris. The delegation led by the JVP founder met with France’s economic heads, and discussed expanding cooperation and establishing a “Margalit Startup City” in Paris. Read more
Using data to drive business. Placer.ai has developed software that anonymously tracks users’ shopping, and helps drive business growth in a whole new way. Read more
HopOn expands to Europe, announces $10 million acquisition of UK-based ECR. “Acquiring ECR is the first step in HopOn’s strategic plan to enter the European market,” explained Amir Rozetweig, HopOn CEO. Read more
Round B | Israeli tech has a lot to learn from Simone Biles. “In business, as in the Olympics, there is little room on the podium. A few reach great success and the majority are left with their wounds and the sacrifices they made,” writes Shaul Olmert. Read more
Millennium Food-Tech Partnership leads $3.5 Series A round in Yofix.
The partnership will lead the round in the plant-based milk startup by investing $2 million alongside Big Idea Ventures, The Kitchen FoodTech Hub, and others. Read more
Gaming2021 | Israel is more than ‘semiconductors and cyber’, says
Remagine Ventures. Eze Vidra joined CTech to discuss some of the industries that are moving markets in the entertainment and gaming space. Watch full video
Inception XR’s plan to ‘create a new language’ for children’s books.
Speaking at Gaming2021, Inception XR Founder and CMO Dana Porter discusses how AR can help children read more. Watch full video
