April 16, 2018 | Slidely, the popular visual content creation service and cloud-based video creation service based in Tel Aviv, has announced that its online video creation maker for businesses, Promo, will be integrated with Shutterstock, the leading American stock photography, stock footage, stock music and editing tools company, according to a statement. The new content integration adds more than nine million premium quality videos to the Promo video platform over the next few months, increasing the video library from 3.5 million to over 12.5 million. Promo, launched by Slidely in August 2016, has already attracted over 40,000 paying customers and has become one of the fastest-growing software-as-a-service video creation platforms for small-and-medium-sized businesses.
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Slidely’s Video Creation Tool Promo Will Partner With Popular US Photo Provider Shutterstock
Israeli Medical Cannabis Firm Signs Deal To Sell 5 Tons Of Cannabis Oil In Canada
April 16, 2018 | Israeli cannabis company Together Pharma has announced that its subsidiary Globus Pharma, specializing in the medical cannabis sector, has 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, a statement from the Israeli firm said. Under the agreement, the Canadian company will buy 50 tons of dried inflorescences (flowers) of cannabis each year or its equivalent, five tons of medical cannabis oil from Globus Pharma. The companies will also collaborate in R&D and promoting technologies in the medical cannabis sector. The companies estimate that the sales revenue of this deal will be between $3.17 and $4.7 per gram of inflorescence. Globus Pharma will provide the Canadian company with medical cannabis from farms in Israel “subject to receiving an export permit for medical cannabis” or from its farm in an overseas country, which has an export agreement with Canada. Israel is currently going through a medical cannabis export freeze ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, which suspends reforms that would allow for the legal export of cannabis. The state and its cannabis industry stand to lose out on an opportunity to bring in $1 billion in annual revenue, but while Israeli cannabis farmers were angered by the decision, many of Israel’s leading cannabis companies and supporters remain optimistic that the ban will be lifted soon. Also, many of the Israeli companies, such as Together, are continuing to market and sell their medical cannabis products through overseas companies. The Canadian company is currently applying for a license to market and sell its own medical cannabis products in Canada and abroad. The company has told Globus that it expects to receive the license within four to five months. Globus Pharma already has a sales agreement with a German company for 25 tons a year and a sales agreement for three tons a year with another Canadian company. Together also recently reported that “it will work to establish up to 25 acres of greenhouses in a country outside of Israel in a self-financed project,” according to the press release.
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Healthy.io’s Tech That Turns Mobile Cameras Into Medical Devices To Feature In US Clinical Trial
April 15, 2018 | Israeli startup Healthy.io announced a new partnership with the US National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and Geisinger, one of the largest health services organizations in America, for a clinical trial using a smartphone-enabled home urinalysis device for chronic kidney disease (CKD) among patients with high blood pressure. Healthy.io, according to the Tel Aviv-based company, “uses computer vision, machine learning, and user-centric design to turn the smartphone camera into a medical device.” The Israeli startup’s app will enable users to conduct a urinalysis test at home and securely share results with their clinicians to monitor the presence of albumin, which indicates kidney damage. Part of the clinical trial will be to “examine the effect of mailed, Healthy.io smartphone urinalysis kits (Dip.io test) to improve albuminuria screening compliance and detection of albuminuria.,” the companies said in a statement. Healthy.io CEO Yonatan Adiri said the company was “proud to pioneer its ‘adherence as a service’ platform with such forward-looking institutions as Geisinger and the National Kidney Foundation, adding that its “mission is to use advanced computer vision and patient-centric design to let clinicians empower their patients at scale without additional cost or effort.” He went on, “Like a Netflix for adherence we lean on the spread of digital technology and efficient logistics to offer on-demand testing delivered directly to the home. With a smartphone in your pocket, the point of care becomes wherever you are.” Alexander Chang, M.D., practicing nephrologist and assistant professor in the Kidney Health Research Institute at Geisinger, said, “Early detection of CKD is crucial so that risk factors can be aggressively managed to prevent end-stage renal disease and cardiovascular disease.” Kerry Willis, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at NKF said the new trial “will provide important information on how to increase testing for CKD in this high-risk population.Our hope is that a home-based test makes it easier for patients at risk for CKD to comply with regular albuminuria screening and that this will lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of CKD, reducing cardiovascular risk and preserving kidney function.” The clinical trial will get underway on April 16.
Tel Aviv University Sets Up VC Fund To Invest In Israeli Startups
April 15, 2018 | Tel Aviv University announced that it was setting up a new venture capital fund to invest in Israeli startups, the first Israeli university to make such a move. The fund, TAU Ventures, will invest in early-stage startups and will run various incubation programs in different tech fields, the university said. The first program off the ground focuses on cybersecurity and is run in partnership with Japanese multinational NEC Corporation. According to Globes, which cites sources close to the university, the fund will total some $20 million. TAU Ventures’ offices will be in Ramat Aviv and will be run by Nimrod Cohen, formerly of Plus Ventures, which led investments in a number of successful startups including YOTPO, Bringg, and WSC Sports, sold to Snapchat. TAU President Joseph Klafter said in a statement, “Tel Aviv University is the most innovative and entrepreneurial university in Israel and I am proud that we arrived at the next required step, with the establishment of TAU Ventures, the new investment vehicle of the university.” Klafner said the initiative sets the university “in line with the leading universities in the world,” like MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley, which also have venture arms. Cohen said that “the advantage of the fund will be [in] identifying unique opportunities in early stages and suggested added value to the entrepreneurs among the students and our alumni of TAU.” Among the investors in the fund are Singapore-based Chartered High Tech Fund, Maxine Commercial Capital in Los Angeles, and additional investors from Canada. Eyal Agmoni, the head of Chartered Group said, “we made this investment out of our strong belief in the Israeli high-tech industry in general, and from knowing that a big part of entrepreneurship in Israel [involves] Tel Aviv University.” Bahzad Kianmahd, the co-founder and acting chairman and CEO of Maxine Commercial Capital said, “As an enthusiastic person in higher education and the future of Israel, I am proud to be a part of a fund which will operate under the TAU umbrella.”
Israel’s Partner TV Signs Collaboration Deal With Amazon Prime Video
April 15, 2018 | Israel’s Partner Communications Company, which runs the low-cost cable and internet service Partner TV, announced a collaboration agreement in Israel with Amazon Prime Video. Partner TV customers will now “have access to the Amazon Prime Video service on Partner TV set-top box, which offers access to view a broad selection of global content and Amazon Prime original content, including TV series and movies,” Partner said in a statement. Partner TV said it is the first and only television service in Israel to offer Amazon Prime Video application on a set top box and the first OTT (Over the Top) service in the world to support this application on an Android TV set top box. Amazon made it’s Prime Video content available in 200 countries, including Israel in 2016 via computer, smartphone, and TV apps. This is the first partnership with a cable operator. Partner also offers Netflix free of charge for new subscribers for up to three months. The financial details of the Amazon-Partner deal were not disclosed.
Yad Vashem Partners With Israeli Video Startup Wibbitz For Holocaust Stories
April 12, 2018 | Just before Israel’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 12, Israel’s official memorial to Holocaust victims Yad Vashem announced a cooperation with Israeli video platform startup Wibbitz. Yad Vashem will use Wibbitz to make Holocaust stories documented in texts and sound clips into video clips, through the company’s artificial intelligence platform. The goal is to create visual content that is shareable and can be easily distributed online. Wibbitz, founded in 2011 by Yotam Cohen and Zohar Dayan, creates video content for over 400 sites and has locations in Tel Aviv, New York, and Paris. The Jerusalem-based Yad Vashem was established in 1953 as a memorial dedicated to preserving the memory of Holocaust victims and those who fought Nazi oppressors as well as researching genocide and the Holocaust phenomenon.
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Israeli ‘Kitchen-In-A-Box’ Raises $10M To Tap Into The US Market
April 12, 2018 | Israeli smart oven food tech company Genie Enterprise has announced they have closed a Series A financing round, which was “oversubscribed at $10 million,” according to a statement. Carl Marks Securities acted as exclusive financial adviser for the deal and its principals were also investors. The round will help grow Genie in the United States. Founded in 2014, Genie’s food technology company develops and markets smart ovens that cook quick, but tasty meals at restaurant quality from fresh, dried ingredients without preservatives or artificial flavorings. Founded in 2014, Genie develops and markets smart ovens they call “kitchen-in-a-box,” which can cook restaurant-quality meals “at the touch of a button” in two to three minutes, from pods that carry fresh, dried ingredients. Genie also markets these pods. The Genie smart oven scans a barcode on the pod to cook the meal. The company began targeting Israeli hospitals, hotels, cafes, and businesses in 2017 and now hopes to do the same in the US. They have been used by companies such as Apple in Israel.
Sequoia Capital General Partner Launches First Cybersecurity Fund
April 12, 2018 | Sequoia Capital Israel General Partner Gili Raanan has announced he is launching a new cybersecurity venture capital fund named Cyberstarts, according to a press release. This is said to be the world’s first venture capital firm backed by cybersecurity entrepreneurs. “The fund’s unique model is introducing a fresh approach for pre-investment decision making process and post-investment portfolio services,” the statement said. The fund has already received $50 million in funding in a very short time, thanks to the support of various cybersecurity entrepreneurs, including Check Point co-founders Shlomo Kramer and Marius Nacht, Imperva co-founder Amichai Shulman, IBM-acquired Trusteer founders Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar, Palo Alto Networks founder Nir Zuk, and Microsoft-acquired Adallom founder Assaf Rappaport. Sequoia capital is also an investor in the fund. The fund also includes 10 US-based Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to support the decision making process.
Israeli Insurance Giant Partners With IBM Accelerator
April 11, 2018 | Israeli insurance giant Menora Mivtachim will team up with IBM accelerator, Alpha Zone, to strengthen their involvement in insurtech, Globes reports. Sources inform the Israeli daily that the insurance company will select advance-stage Israeli insurtech startups along with the accelerator. The companies they select will receive insurance-based consultations and access to big data from Menora Mivtachim and access to cloud-based AI services and business assistance from IBM during the 20-week program, which will take place in IBM’s headquarters in Kiryat Arie. Menorah Mivtachim also partnered with global startup accelerator MassChallenge in January 2018.
OurCrowd Reaches 20 Exits After Israel’s Invertex Acquired By Nike
April 11, 2018 | OurCrowd, the leading global equity crowdfunding platform has announced that the recent exits of two companies in the past two days, its portfolio companies have achieved a total of 20 exits over the past five years. American footwear and apparel giant Nike announced Tuesday that they have acquired Israeli computer vision company Invertex for an undisclosed amount and San Francisco-based bike sharing service Jump is set to be acquired by Uber following a trial program with the company earlier this year. Other exits among the 20 include companies like Argus Cyber Security, which was acquired by Continental AG in 2017 for over $400 million, Shopial, a company that moves your online store to social networks, acquired by Magento in 2017, and ReWalk, a wearable robotics company for people with lower limb disabilities, who raised $36 million in an IPO on NASDAQ. Founded in 2013 by Jon Medved, OurCrowd currently has almost 25,000 accredited investors from over 112 countries. It has raised over $650 million and invested in 145 portfolio companies and funds. The company predicts it will surpass $1 billion in assets under management, raised through equity crowdfunding from investors.
Israeli Auto Cybersecurity Karamba Security Raises $10M
April 11, 2018 | Karamba Security, an international provider of end-to-end automotive cybersecurity prevention solutions, announced Tuesday they have raised $10 million in funding from the US venture debt firm Western Technology Investment (WTI.) This brings Karamba Security’s total investment to $27 million. The company will use the money raised to acquire companies and technology assets to accelerate its Autonomous Security portfolio and address the growing demand for Karamba solutions. Founded in 2015, the Hod HaSharon-based company provides industry-leading automotive cybersecurity solutions for autonomous and connected cars. Security software products created by the company include Carwall and SafeCAN.
CommonSense Robotics To Provide Packing Robots For Super-Pharm Deliveries
April 11, 2018 | Sources tell Israeli daily Globes that online orders at Israeli pharmaceutical chain Super-Pharm will soon be taken off shelves, packed and shipped by robots. The network has hired Tel Aviv-based startup CommonSense Robotics to operate a logistics center where products will automatically be packed by robots. The center is scheduled to launch in the next six months. Super-Pharm will pay Commonsense Robotics a monthly retainer to operate the center, provide robot equipment, and employ workers. The service is expected to shorten delivery time, cut labor costs for retailers, and even cut delivery cost. CommonSense Robotics, a Tel Aviv-based company founded in 2015 aiming to help online grocery retailers offer on-demand, one-hour deliveries using robotics and artificial intelligence, raised $20 million in a Series A funding round in February.
Palo Alto Networks To Acquire Israeli Cyber Firm Secdo
April 10, 2018 | Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company founded by Israeli Nir Zuk, announced its intent to acquire Israeli cybersecurity firm Secdo, which develops solutions for enterprise security operations teams for quick incident responses. Secdo’s patented technology “uses assisted learning combined with the only thread-level visibility to automatically investigate and respond to every alert from any security technology,” the company says. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “Secdo’s team of elite engineers will complement the deep security expertise and innovation inside the Palo Alto Networks research and development organization,” Palo Alto Networks wrote in a statement. Mark McLaughlin, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks said, “With Secdo’s EDR capabilities as part of our platform, we will accelerate our ability to detect and prevent successful cyber attacks across the cloud, endpoint, and network.” Secdo co-founder and CEO Shai Morag said the company “delighted to join the Palo Alto Networks team,” adding that Secdo, based in Ra’anana, was founded “to dramatically increase visibility for security operations teams to reduce the time it takes to detect and respond to an alert. The combined capabilities of Secdo and Palo Alto Networks will provide customers the capabilities they need to swiftly and accurately detect and respond to cyber attacks.” Palo Alto Networks previously acquired Isreali startup LightCyber in 2017 for $105 million and Cyvera, an Israel-based cyber firm for some $200 million in 2014. Earlier this year, the Santa Clara, California-based firm announced the opening of a new R&D center in Tel Aviv.
Medtronic Acquires Israeli Medical Device Tech Firm VisionSense for $75M
April 10, 2018 | US-based medical device company Medtronic is acquiring Israeli company VisionSense, which develops imaging and visualization tech for minimally invasive surgery, for $75 million, up to $50 million cash and a further $25 million in milestone payments, Globes first reported. VisionSense was founded in 1998 and raised $20 million over the years, according to the report. The company developed a 3D-HD camera that “optically maps the surgical field.”
China’s ‘Silicon Valley’ To Open Tel Aviv Liaison Office
April 10, 2018 | Beijing’s Zhongguancun Science Park (Z-Park), dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley,” is set to open a liaison office in Tel Aviv, Chinese news service Xinhua reported, in an effort to strengthen channels of communication and tap into business opportunities in both countries. The announcement was made this week during a meeting between Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Doron Sapir and Beijing Vice Mayor Yin Hejun leading a delegation included high-level executives of Z-Park. “Beijing and Tel Aviv, like China and Israel, are completely different in size, but share many common values: adopting technology and modernization, cherishing education, and striving to always improve our municipal systems,” Sapir was quoted by Xinhua as saying. Yin Hejun said, “We are thrilled to announce this liaison office in Tel Aviv, which is the center of the Israeli ecosystem, as another step in the cooperation between our cities, calling the Z-Park as “home to innovation and breakthrough technologies.” This will be Z-Park’s 11th liaison office across the world, according to the report. The tech hub is home to tech giants like Lenovo and caters to some 20,000 tech enterprises.
