US-Israel Foundation To Invest Over $7M In 9 New Joint Projects

The Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation announced this week that it was investing close to $8 million in nine new joint projects between Israeli and American companies in a number of fields including wastewater treatment, satellite imagery, and cancer evaluation.

The foundation, created in 1977 to foster collaboration between Israeli and American industries, said that the projects will also have access to private capital, bringing the total amount available to roughly $19 million.

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The organization, which works with companies in both countries to identify strategic partners, said the nine joint projects, which are reviewed by evaluators tapped by the Israel Innovation Authority and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), are as follows:

– Israeli environmental startup AgRobics will partner with the California-based agtech company Bennett & Bennett to develop an innovative anaerobic wastewater treatment for food processing plants.

– Tel Aviv-based Deep Learning startup Axon Vision and Miami mobile medical device company DermaSensor will develop a medical household device for skin cancer evaluation powered by artificial intelligence.

– Israeli agtech company Farm Dog Technologies and US manufacturer Deere & Co. will develop a variable rate pesticide application based on in-field observations.

– ImageSat, an Israel Aerospace Industry subsidiary, will team up with California’s geo-communication platform Balcony.io to develop a system that aggregates high-resolution satellite imagery with crowdsourced mobile user information.

– Motorola Solutions Israel and Boston-based artificial intelligence company Neurala will develop on-edge video analytics for public safety.

– Artificial intelligence Tel Aviv company MyndYou and PA-based Genesis Rehab Services will develop AI-optimized care for a growing elderly population.

– Israeli communications startup NSLComm and San Diego’s Space Micro are teaming up to develop high bandwidth communications for nano-satellites.

– RunEL NGMT, based in Rishon Lezion, and San Diego’s Anokiwave, a fabless semiconductor company, will develop a 5G cellular communication platform.

– Tel Aviv’s Taranis, which combines agtech, predictive analytics, and Deep Learning, and Texas’s Advanced Microbial Solutions will develop crop abiotic stress detection and prevention.

“The BIRD Foundation is one of the best vehicles for enabling both Israeli and US companies to work together and leverage their respective strengths in innovation, and be ahead of the changes, said Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and co-Chairman of BIRD’s Board of Governors, in a press statement. “I call upon Israeli and US companies to continue taking advantage of the unique opportunities provided by the BIRD Foundation for bilateral collaboration.”

Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen said the foundation was “a special manifestation of the strong relationship between Israel and the US, fostering collaboration based on Israel’s innovation and technology, to achieve competitive advantage, economic growth and social contribution, in both countries.”

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The US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman also praised the foundation, saying that it continued “to be vital, vibrant, and at the heart of the strong US-Israeli relationship.”

“The BIRD model has proven itself time and again by helping to bring important and impactful technologies to market. It has earned admiration in the United States, Israel and around the world,” Friedman added.