April 25, 2018 | A resident of Norfolk, England became the first paralyzed man to finish the London Marathon on Monday, national British daily The Telegraph reports, with the help of the Israeli-developed exoskeleton suit, Rewalk, with helps paraplegics regain mobility. Simon Kindleysides was able to complete the entire 26.2 miles (42 km) with the help of the suit, but was not awarded a medal because he only finished the race a day later, a full 36 hours after the race began at 10 am. He was the last person to cross the finish line. The 34-year old was diagnosed with a glioma brain tumor and a functional neurological disorder in 2013, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He ran to support a charity that funds brain tumor research and raised over $12,000. While he received no official medals for the feat, the London Marathon named him the #SpiritofLondon award winner for 2018 and he received numerous donations from spectators and supporters. On his crowdfunding page, he wrote: “I want to be a HUGE role model not just to my children but to others out there who are ‘disabled’ and don’t get enough credit and to people who don’t think they can do stuff.” Kindleysides is the first paralyzed man to complete the marathon, but he is not the first paralyzed person to do it. Claire Lomas in 2012 completed the course in 17 days with the help of ReWalk. At the time, Lomas, who was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident said the suit had been invaluable to her. ReWalk was originally created two decades ago by mechanical engineer Dr. Amit Goffer. He began working on the device after a road accident left him paralyzed in 1998. The bionic suit has since helped people around the world regain relative independence and autonomy over their bodies. Rewalk recently began focusing on a new product for the rehabilitation of people who have suffered a stroke, with the aid of a “soft exo-suit system,” the ReStore.
News Briefs
First Paralyzed Man Completes London Marathon With Help Of Israeli-Developed ReWalk Suit
Israeli Startup To Be Chosen To Present At Leading Southeast Asian Tech Conference
April 25, 2018 | Southeast Asia’s leading tech and business conference Techsauce Global Summit is offering Israeli startups the chance to win a trip to present their company at the convention from June 22 to 23 as part of the Techsauce Israel Innovation Challenge. Six Israeli finalists will be selected to pitch their startups at Singtel’s Innov8’s Tel Aviv offices on May 9. The grand prize winner startup will receive an all-expense paid to Bangkok to exhibit their company to leading SE Asian Corporations. Ten thousand people are expected to attend the conference, with 300 speakers from 30 different countries. The conference will showcase exhibits in industrial IoT, AI/robotics, blockchain, and fintech. Israel is the only non-Asia-Pacific (APAC) country included in the summit. They will also take part in the Techsauce Roadshow leading up to the summit. The Techsauce Israel Innovation Challenge is a production by Upround Ventures, Singtel Innov8, and GE Digital Israel. Deadline for all applications is April 26. Techsauce is the leading source of all tech and business news in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
Israeli Government Allocates $5.6M For Tech Workspaces, Infrastructure In Arab Communities
April 24, 2018 | The Israeli Knesset’s committee for Arab affairs announced Monday they would allocate NIS 20 million ($5.6 million) to a new program established to help the integration of Arabs into the Israeli tech ecosystem, according to the business daily CTech by Calcalist. According to the report, the funds will be used for “building infrastructure” — improving roads and creating tech workspaces in Arab towns. A cabinet resolution in 2015 said the Israeli government would allocate $4.2 billion to the economic development of Arab communities and other minority groups. According to the committee, the government has already invested $1.2 billion into the development.
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
Some 300 Global VCs In Israel For Tech Ecosystem Tour
April 23, 2018 | Some 300 venture capitalists from around the world are in Israel this week for an annual summit that includes a tour of Israel’s world-renown tech ecosystem, hosted by Start-Up Nation Central and the Jerusalem Development Authority. The delegation is part of the Kauffman Fellows Annual Summit, taking place for the first time in Israel this year, which the program describes as a “hotbed of technology and entrepreneurial spirit unlike any other.” The group includes new fellows, Class 22 announced last June, made up of 51 executives, CEOs, and partners from 5 continents, including several Israelis, representing top firms such as Intel Capital, Merck Ventures, 500 Startups, and Microsoft Ventures. The delegation arrived in Israel on Sunday for a 6-day trip that includes speaking sessions with top Israeli industry leaders in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, an “Innovation Crawl” on Rothschild Boulevard and a personalized tour of the Israeli capital as well as a meeting with Israeli Minister of Education Naftali Bennett. “We are hoping to learn what has made Israel such a special ecosystem, what the role of the VCs and the government have been, and how to take it to the next level,” Kauffman VP John McIntyre told the Times of Israel. The new fellows join a network of some 500 graduates of the program “from more than 200 venture capital firms representing funds investing billions into startups in 40+ countries,” the Kauffman Fellows Program says. The Kauffman fellows include 13 Israelis.
4 Israeli Cybersecurity Firms Nab 2018 Fortress Awards By Business Intelligence Group
April 23, 2018 | Four Israel-based and Israel-founded cybersecurity companies nabbed a number of awards this month in different categories at the 2018 Fortress Cyber Security Awards hosted by Business Intelligence Group. Israeli-founded Dojo Labs, acquired by London-based cyber firm Bullguard in 2016, and which developed the Dojo, a device that protects Wi-Fi networks and other connected devices, won the “threat detection” award in the hardware and infrastructure category. Dojo Labs maintains offices in Herzliya. Deep Instinct, which uses deep learning for a security solution that protects against zero-day threats and APT attacks, and is able to identify malware from any data source in real-time, won awards for “endpoint protection,” “threat prevention,” and “mobile security” in the software and apps category. Founded in 2014, Deep Instinct was named late last year by US data processing chip maker Nvidia as the “most disruptive AI startup” out of over 800 ventures at the 2017 Inception Awards and a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum. Meanwhile, Israeli-founded Zimperium, which maintains headquarters in Dallas and offices in San Francisco, and specializes in security mobile devices and apps, also won a 2018 Fortress prize for “threat detection,” and “mobile security” in the same category. Zimperium has raised over $60 million since it was founded in 2010, including from Japan’s Softbank. This year, it was named a winner in the 2018 InfoSec Awards in both the CEO of the Year, and Hot Company for Enterprise Mobile Threat Defense categories. Finally, Rishon Lezion-based Cymulate, founded in 2016 and which develops SaaS-based cyber attack simulations, won Fortress accolades in “threat detection, and “breach & attack simulation” in the software and apps category for products and services. Cymulate also has offices in New York. The Israeli winners were among 35 global companies are services recognized in the inaugural business awards program by Business Intelligence, which seeks to “recognize organizations, products and people from around the world who are leading the field of cybersecurity by employing new and exciting innovations and tactics,” according to a company announcement earlier this year.
eBay Israel CEO Yuval Matalon To Retire After Nearly A Decade
April 22, 2018 | Yuval Matalon, current CEO of eBay Israel, has announced he will retire from the e-commerce giant in the coming months after nearly 10 years heading Netanya-based Israeli development center of 330 people, a statement from eBay said. Matalon led the company to international success, which included the acquisition of Israeli startups like analytics company SalesPredict. Moti Eliav will replace Matalon. Prior to joining eBay in 2016, Eliav served as CEO of Limlight Networks Israel, CEO of GaiaMobile US, and senior management positions at BMC Software and ServiceNow in Israel and the US. In an interview this month, Matalon told Israeli daily Globes that eBay needs “to do a better job” and assured the media publication that they will see a dramatic change in the design of eBay coming soon. “We have 150 million users, but we realized that in order to conquer the next 100 million we need to change, and once there are innovations, it will break the glass ceiling of people who today may be reluctant to buy things online,” he said.
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
First Government-Hosted Medical Cannabis Conference Opens This Week
April 22, 2018 | Israel’s Ministries of Agriculture and of Health are hosting the first government-backed conference on medical cannabis this week near Tel Aviv, as the Israeli cabinet is set to vote in the coming weeks on approving medical cannabis exports after months of wrangling. Dubbed “Cannaan” – a combination of cannabis and Canaan, the biblical name of the region – the four-day conference is taking place April 23-26 at Kfar Hamaccabiah in Ramat Gan, just outside Tel Aviv. The program includes speeches by Israeli Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel, Yuval Landshaft, the Head of the Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency at the Israeli Ministry of Health, and Professor Raphael Mechoulam, the “father” of Israeli medical cannabis research. The event will also run sessions and panels on topics such as regulation, hi-tech agriculture, R&D, recent clinical studies, and the development of cannabis-based treatments and medicine. The website for the event, also called “Leading the Future,” says it is the “first international conference for medical grade cannabis.”
Israeli Digital Diabetes Platform GlucoMe Launches in Central America
April 19, 2018 | Israeli digital diabetes care platform GlucoMe and Norwegian electronic medical record (EMR) company DiaMan AS announced Tuesday the market launch of the GlucoMe digital diabetes care solution in Central America, according to a statement. The GlucoMe solution will first be introduced into Guatemala, Panama, and Dominican Republic and later into Costa Rica and Nicaragua followed by the rest of Central America. GlucoMe will integrate its digital diabetes solution provider with DiaMan’s diabetes-focused EMR software, under the agreement. DiaMan will lead the distribution of GlucoMe’s solution throughout Central America, including all products — wireless blood glucose monitor, mobile app, and diabetes clinic software for healthcare professionals. Working closely with hospitals and other institutions, DiaMan expects to reach up to 70,000 users in two or three years, the statements says. Founded in 2013 by Dov Moran and Yiftah Ben Aharon, GlucoMe’s digital diabetes platform consists of a smart glucose monitor, insulin pen monitor, mobile app and cloud-based digital diabetes Clinic. Currently, about 7 million people or 8 percent of the adult population of Central America have diabetes.
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
Israel’s AI-Powered Legal Startup LawGeex Raises $21M
April 18, 2018 | Israeli contract review automation startup LawGeex announced Tuesday it had closed a $12 million Series B funding round, bringing their total funding to $21.5 million, a statement said. The funding round was led by venture capital fund Aleph. Lool Ventures also participated in the round. LawGeex’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform uses artificial intelligence to automate, review and approve the legality of business contracts before they are signed. According to a study conducted in February in collaboration with top academics at leading universities, LawGeex’s AI platform achieved an accuracy of 94 percent in its capability of spotting risks in business contracts, while US lawyers only achieved an average of 85 percent. While it took 92 minutes for the participating lawyers to complete all five NDAs, it only took LawGeex AI 26 seconds, the study said. Founded in 2014 by CEO Adv. Noory Bechor and AI specialist Ilan Admon, the startup has offices in Tel Aviv and New York and clients that include eBay and Farmers Insurance.
Israeli Cannabis Firm Signs Deal To Set Up Greenhouses Abroad
April 18, 2018 | Israeli medical cannabis company Together Pharma announced Tuesday that its subsidiary Globus Pharma has signed a cooperation agreement to set up greenhouses of up to 25 acres in a foreign country, according to a statement from the company. The greenhouses will be set up no later than six months after the agreement signing. The cannabis harvesting is planned for the first quarter of 2019. Together did not name the country or company with who its subsidiary signed the deal. The deal could bring in annual sales of $75 to $300 million depending on the harvest, the statement said. Globus Pharma will own 51 percent and the partner will hold 49 percent. Together also announced on Monday that its subsidiary had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to sell medical cannabis or oil to an unnamed Canadian company with a license to grow, produce, and import medical cannabis.
Google Shopping To Launch In Israel
April 18, 2018 | US search engine giant Google will launch Google Shopping, a feature on their search results page which includes links to buy products according to search words typed by internet users, sources tell Globes. Azrieli.com and Super Pharm are said to be among the first Israeli customers to integrate the feature into their sites. Google will charge for advertising on this feature and hopes to include referrals to websites all over the world, the Israeli daily reports. The feature works when a user clicks a link to put him or her on the shopping page. The advertisement will have a picture of the product, its price, and reviews from other internet users. The service is currently in its first stages, Globes says, and advertisers will only appear to up to 2 percent of internet users. Google Shopping already operates in 37 countries.
Top Israeli VC Firm aMoon Raises $200M For Digital Health Fund
April 17, 2018 | Israeli life sciences venture capital fund aMoon Partners, co-founded by Dr. Yair Schindel and Marius Nacht, also the billionaire co-founder of cybersecurity giant CheckPoint Software Technologies, announced that it raised $200 million, with a goal for a total of $500 million, to invest in mid- to late-stage companies in the health and medical technologies field. The funds were raised from private investors. “The opportunity is vast,” Schindel said, according to Bloomberg. “There are about 1,500 life-sciences startups in Israel, of all types, and about 10 percent of them are mid- to late-stage opportunities. That’s a huge pipeline that we’re following very closely.” The average investment will be between $10 million and $40 million, he said, adding that most of the investments will be in Israel with possible opportunities in the US, the UK, and Switzerland. The first aMoon health fund was set up in 2017, with Nacht putting up $200 million. The fund invested in 16 startups.
Israeli AI Visual Management Startup Applitools Raises $31M
April 17, 2018 | Israeli company Applitools announced that it raised $31 million in Series C funding led by OpenView, with participation from its existing investors Sierra Ventures, Magma Venture Partners, iAngels, and La Maison. Applitools platforms allow users to automate application tests that usually would be conducted manually, seeing how the app would appear on browsers, devices and more. Applitools said in a statement that it will “use the investment to fuel market expansion of its AI-powered visual testing and monitoring solution by scaling its R&D, operations, and sales.” Applitools CEO Gil Sever said, “Our mission is to help customers automate all visual aspects of application delivery, and address the growing importance of providing exceptional digital experiences across any device, browser, operating system, and language. We are excited to partner with OpenView to scale our enterprise-grade platform to support digital transformation with the velocity and quality that businesses demand.” Since it was founded in 2013 by Sever and Adam Carmi, Applitools has raised more than $46 million. Applitools sayd it developed the first and only “visual AI engine (Applitools Eyes) that mimics the human eye and brain in a reliable and scalable fashion.” The company says the tool has tens of thousands of users across more than 300 companies, and “recently crossed a total of 100 million visual comparisons and one billion component level validations.” Applitools is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and has an R&D center in Tel Aviv.
Technion Receives $50M Donation For New State-Of-The-Art Science And Engineering Center
April 17, 2018 | The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has announced a $50 million naming gift from the Helen Diller Family Foundation to support the university’s new cutting-edge center for science and engineering. The center will be called the Helen Diller Center for Quantum Science, Matter, and Engineering, according to a statement from the university. “The gift…will strengthen the Technion’s position as a world leader in quantum science and engineering by providing the means for new faculty recruitment, establishing new infrastructure, seed funding for research and development, and educating a new generation of engineers with a master of quantum mechanics,” the university said. This is one of the largest single gifts ever to the Technion from an American donor. The Helen Diller for Quantum Science, Matter, and Engineering is also the first of its kind in Israel, hoping to advance the basic sciences while using the principles of quantum mechanics to impact various engineering fields and develop applications for a wide range of industries. The center will serve as a platform for collaboration between Technion scientists and engineers, as well as a research center for quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum computing, quantum sensing and detection, quantum materials, and quantum simulators.
[sharethis-inline-buttons]
Israeli-Founded Travel Booking Platform Raises $21M
April 16, 2018 | Israeli-founded, Barcelona-based business travel booking and management platform TravelPerk has announced it has raised $21 million in a Series B funding round, according to the company. The round was led by Berlin-based venture capital firm Target Global and London firm Felix Capital. Spark Capital, Sunstone, and Amplo also participated in the round. This brings the company’s total money raised to $30 million. TravelPerk has been ranked the fastest-growing SaaS company in Europe and the fourth fastest-growing globally on the SaaS 1000 list, the statement says, and the company “has built the world’s largest bookable inventory” by integrating not only with hotels, airlines, rail companies, and all the major leisure travel sites. The next-generation platform, founded in 2015 by CPO Javier Suarez, and CEO Avi Meir, who completed his military service in the main technological unit of the Israeli Intelligence Corps, is a free service that also offers 24/7 customer support.
