Airobotics, Claroty Among WSJ’s 25 Tech Companies ‘To Watch’ In 2018

June 14, 2018 | Two Israeli companies are among the Wall Street Journal’s 25 tech companies to keep an eye on in 2018, including Airobotics, a Petah Tikva-based firm that has developed a fully automated pilot-less industrial drone, and Claroty, a New York-based cybersecurity company focused on securing critical infrastructure systems.

Earlier this week, Claroty announced that it raised $60 million in a fresh funding round led by Temasek, a national wealth fund owned by the government of Singapore, bringing its total funding since it was founded in 2014 by Galina Antova, Benny Porat, and Amir Zilberstein, to over $90 million. Claroty exited stealth mode in 2016.

The investors in the latest round also included Rockwell Automation, Aster Capital (sponsored by Schneider Electric), Next47 (a Siemens-backed global venture firm), Envision Ventures, and Turkish-based Tekfen Ventures. Previous investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Innovation Endeavors, ICV, and Team8, a cybersecurity think tank and accelerator where Claroty got its start, also participated.

Airobotics, meanwhile, has raised over $70 million in funding since 2014 when it was founded by Meir Kliner and Ran Krauss. Earlier this year, it was named among Fast Company’s “world’s most innovative” firms, alongside 14 other Israeli startups, and Forbes listed it as one of five Tel Aviv tech startups to watch in 2018.

The Wall Street Journal said the 25 companies on its list this year were “screened to ensure the analysis included young, emerging companies rather than large, well-established businesses,” and were “included only if they were founded since the start of 2013 and had a valuation of $50 million to $500 million.”

In 2017, the WSJ listed three Israeli companies – insurance tech firm Lemonade, cybersecurity startup Illusive Networks (also a Team8 company), and Argus Cyber Security (sold to auto giant Continental) – among the firms to watch that year.