US-Israel Foundation To Invest $8M In 9 New Joint Initiatives

The Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation is set to invest $8 million in nine joint projects in areas such as agrotechnology, cleantech, cybersecurity, healthcare IT, life sciences, quantum technology, and others.

The foundation, which was created in 1977 to foster collaboration between Israeli and American industries, said that the projects will also have access to private sector funding, which will bring the total amount of all projects to approximately $18 million.

The projects are reviewed by evaluators from the Israel Innovation Authority and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The nine joint projects are as follows:

• Israeli-based wastewater treatment solution startup Advanced MemTech will team up with Houston-based firm Agar Corporation to develop oil-water separation membrane tech for the oil and gas industries. 
• Israel’s autonomous drone crop monitoring firm AgroScout and San Francisco-based company Birdstop will develop a digital agronomy system for automated early detection of crop diseases and pests using a “drone-in-a-box” platform.
• Afula-based personalized medicine firm DosentRx and Houston’s Contents Trader will pair up to develop novel tech for homecare medication tracking, management, and integration into the US specialty pharmacy ecosystem.
• Caesarea-based firm Fluence Water Products and Innovation will team up with Indiana’s Energy Systems Group to develop a new energy-efficient process for nitrogen removal in water resource recovery facilities, which use anaerobic digesters for sludge treatment.
• Haifa-based GaitBetter and Spaulding Rehabilitation Network in Charlestown, MA will develop a motor-cognitive intervention to improve gait and mobility in stroke survivors by adding a virtual reality (VR) experience to treadmill training.
• MDI Health Technologies in Herzliya and Thermo Fisher Scientific in Waltham, MA will team up to develop a system for providing personalized and precise medication treatments.
• Israel’s Nanolock Security and Micron Technology in Boise, ID will together develop a cybersecurity solution to prevent and monitor persistent attacks on connected media devices.
• Israeli cancer therapy company OncoHost based in Binyamina and RayBiotech Life in Peachtree Corners, GA will develop and clinically validate a Host Response test for the early prediction of treatment responsiveness in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with immunotherapy.
• Raicol Crystals in Rosh Ha’ayin and Qubitekk, Inc. in Bakersfield, CA will pair up to develop an efficient miniaturized entangled photon source for quantum computing.

Earlier this month, the BIRD foundation okayed $6.4 million in investments in seven joint clean energy ventures selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Israel’s Ministry of Energy and the Israel Innovation Authority.