News Briefs

November 21, 2017 | The Michigan Israel Business Bridge seeks public and private funding to rebrand itself as the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator in order to push more investment between Israel and Michigan in the areas of manufacturing, mobility, defense, life sciences, and more. Michigan managing partner for Deloitte and board member Mark Davidoff said the rebranded organization will begin operating on December 1. MIBB seeks an operating budget of $1 million to hire staff, add staff in Michigan and Israel, and open an office in downtown Detroit in the first quarter of 2018. The organization also wants to develop new programs to connect Israeli startups with Michigan corporations. Funding may come from various sources, including the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, but not all public funding details are determined yet. Israel is the 19th largest importer to Michigan, with only .03 percent of total imports, but its tech and knowledge-based economy provides unique opportunities, Davidoff said.

 

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November 21, 2017 | On November 19, UK Israel Business (UKIB) sent a delegation of 36 UK investment and technology executives to hear about technologies in Israel. The group, made up of private equity fund leaders, venture capital fund managers, corporate and private investigators and multibillion-dollar family offices, was led by Deputy Chairman of the Court of Directors of the Bank of England Bradley Fried. The group will meet with 41 Israeli-based companies and venture capital firms including OrCam, Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd, CheckPoint Software Technologies, Wix, Vintage Investment Partners, Microsoft Ventures, Intel Ingenuity partner program, and Grove Ventures. Since 1950, the London-based UKIB connects Israeli companies in the UK and helps to grow business and investment between the two countries. This bilateral chamber of commerce and non-profit company is headed by its Chief Executive Hugo Bieber.

 

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November 20, 2017 | Israeli medical imaging analysis software company DiA Imaging Analysis has signed a multi-year, non-exclusive licensing and professional services agreement with GE Healthcare, the company announced in a statement. The Be’er Sheva-based firm will develop its automated imaging analysis technology to work with GE Healthcare’s ultrasound devices. DiA has invented an image processing technology for medical imaging based on pattern recognition devices and machine learning algorithms for point of care analysis. It has marketed its technology to deliver immediate and accurate ultrasound image interpretations. The pattern recognition devices and machine learning algorithms can improve the monitoring of patient conditions and offer physicians powerful tools to support their medical decisions. DiA Imaging Analysis, formerly DiACardio, was founded in 2009 by Hila Goldman-Aslan.

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November 20, 2017 | China is looking for more areas of cooperation with Israeli startups, with a focus on technology related to smart cities, aging tech, robotics and 3D printing, according to a report in the Chinese news agency Xinhua. Israeli and Chinese entrepreneurs gathered in Haifa on Sunday for the 6th China-Israel Hi-tech Investment Summit, a yearly conference that also brings together officials and academics to discuss potential cooperation opportunities. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said: “We enjoy every moment of this collaboration and this summit here shows that we have a good ground to enlarge the relations,” according to Xinhua. The summit, which “aims to encourage commercial and technological corporation and to promote investments between China and Israel,” was organized by the Israeli company Messila – Medical Startup Academy.

At the event, the Chinese company Huafa Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Haifa Economic Corporation for future collaboration in the fields of smart cities and “life sciences.” according to the report, which indicated that China is especially interested in aging technology, given its increasing elderly population. Ties between China and Israel have been flourishing in recent years. China hosted “Israel Culture Week” last week to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The event was part of the 19th China Shanghai International Arts Festival

China has also been seeking Israeli talent and know-how, with at least seven Chinese multinational corporations opening up R&D or innovation centers in Israel over the past three years according to a recent report by Start-up Nation Central, including electronics giant Haier and Huawei, which also bought Israeli startup Hexatier for a reported $42 million last year.

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November 20, 2017 | Israeli startup acquisitions by foreign investors from July-September 2017 have hit a record, posting its highest numbers since the dot.com bubble in 2000. Figures published by the Central Bureau of Statistics show startups volume reached an almost $1.6 billion peak in the third quarter. Research was also conducted by Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services showing that the quarterly figure for exits is the highest reported in Israel other than in 2000 — 17 years ago. Harel chief economist Ofer Klein says this may be cause for concern for Israel’s economic leaders because once companies are moved out of the Israeli economy, future contribution will be lost. While sales of these companies bring dollars into the economy, they will be lacking in import and export accounts, exports of goods, and revenue, he said. [Photo: 3333873]

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November 20, 2017 | US authorities are seeking help from Israel in their investigation into insider trading surrounding the sale earlier this year of the Israeli-founded company Mobileye to Intel for a whopping $15.3 billion. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) petitioned the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to ask Israel investigators for testimony from four Israeli nationals suspected of the insider trading in the case, Haaretz reported. Mobileye founders Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram were questioned by SEC authorities earlier this year on suspicion of passing on non-public information about Intel’s offer to friends and acquaintances who are believed to have profited illicitly from the deal. They have denied the suspicions against them. Mobileye was founded in 1999 in Jerusalem by Shashua and Aviram and went public in 2014. It developed a warning system that alerts drivers of road hazards using software, cameras, and sensors.

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November 20, 2017 | During a visit to the World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C., Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen signed an agreement with the World Bank to bring Israeli agricultural technologies to Africa. The agreements will focus on ICT, water, and agriculture to encourage developing countries to adopt Israel’s innovative approaches and technologies. Two additional representatives from Israel’s Ministry of Economy will be sent to Kenya and Ghana in 2018. The meeting was preceded by additional events to launch a new cooperation agreement between Israel’s Ministry of Economy and the agricultural unit of the Bank. In July 2016, the Israeli government transferred funds for knowledge-sharing activities in water, cyber protection, and agriculture, in order to strengthen ties with Africa, which was followed up by the signing of three agreements with the World Bank. The agreement enables Israeli companies in these fields to participate in World Bank projects in Africa. Cohen also signed an agreement to expand the “Tech Emerge” program, established in 2015 to help bring innovative technologies to emerging markets.

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November 20, 2017 | An Israeli PhD student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has made the global list of most prolific inventors, the university announced Monday. Assaf Natanzon, who studies in the Department of Computer Science has registered 202 patent families in the fields of storage systems and data protection and has 200 pending patent. He is the first Israeli to make the list, which is dominated by American inventors and includes Thomas Edison. Natanzon said he plans to reach 1000 patents, according to a statement sent by the university. Natanzon’s patents were registered for work he has done for Dell EMC as VP Advanced Technology and Investment evaluation EMEA, Distinguished Engineer. Natanzon said he was “proud to be the first Israeli to make the list of Prolific Inventors. I already have 202 registered patents and 200 pending ones; my next goal is to reach 500 and then 1000 patents. Most of my patents are in the area of data protection and disaster recovery, which is also the subject of my PhD thesis which I have recently submitted.”

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November 19, 2017 | Microsoft will hold its cloud conference Microsoft Tech Summit on November 29 and 30 at the Tel Aviv Convention Center. The conference will present the latest trends in Microsoft Cloud. It is the main conference Microsoft will hold this year, with a participation of 2,000 developers, IT professions, students, and technologists speaking on subjects like IT infrastructure, cloud application, artificial intelligence, and more. Conference attendees will be able to experiment with cloud technologies in special Hands-On labs. Special guests such as Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President of the Cloud and Enterprise group in Microsoft, Julia White, leading product management of Microsoft’s Cloud Platform including Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 365 Product Manager Brad Kev and more will be on hand to give lectures, workshops, and demos showcasing Microsoft’s most recent innovations and launches, including Cloudyn, an Israeli company recently acquired by Microsoft within their management portal Azure.

 

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November 19, 2017 | Israeli agro-biotech company Rahan Meristem recently established a joint venture with leading indoor plant growth tech company Future Farm Technologies. The Canadian company will provide funding and an indoor, air-conditioned laboratory in the United States or Canada so that the Israeli-founded company can continue its proprietary technology to mass produce cannabis clones and hemp plants that can be sold for medical purposes worldwide. Rahan has already produced elite clones of bananas, plantains, and other plants for customers around the world, Future Farm Technologies CEO Bill Gildea noted. These clones are tissue cultured produced plants genetically identical to the plant they were taken from. Rahan can create exact replicas of their best plants, with the same characteristics. A positive by-product of the joint venture is that the plants will be patentable and the two companies have agreed to share in the profits.

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November 19, 2017 | Premium cars manufacturer Daimler opened a Mercedes-Benz research and development facility in Tel Aviv, Reuters reported on Thursday, November 16. The center will focus on digital vehicle and mobility services. Financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed. The Tel Aviv Mercedes-Benz R&D center and Daimler IT have already partnered with “The Bridge” accelerator program to better recognize and act on customer demands quickly. In September, Daimler’s van division invested $50 million in a joint venture with Israeli-US ride-hailing startup Via. Founded in 1883, Daimler is one of the biggest producers of premium cars and the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles worldwide. [Photo: Toby_Parsons]

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November 16, 2017 | The Israel Tax Authority confirmed that it will send tax bills to tech giants Google and Facebook “within a year,” as other countries, notably those in the European Union, grapple with the same issue. Moshe Asher, the chairman of the Tax Authority told Israeli media that “ultimately, taxes can be charged based on their operations in Israel. Our goal is to obtain as much data as we can, even if many of these figures are held outside of Israel. Within a year we’ll issue these companies tax bills.” Asher said Israel believes “in the process, and ultimately we’ll be able to issue justified tax bills, even if we’re among the first in the world.” Both companies have Israel-based operations.

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November 16, 2017 | Israeli-founded content promotion company Outbrain will appoint David Kostman as co-CEO of the firm. Kostman will join CEO and co-founder Yaron Galai. Kostman is a member of Outbrain’s board of directors since 2014 and will continue the role even as he steps up to CEO. He is also the chairman of the board of cybersecurity firm NICE and a director at companies like adtech firm IronSource. The New York-based Outbrain is one of the top online content discovery and promotion companies in the world. It was founded by Ori Lahav and Yaron Galai in 2006.

 

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November 16, 2017 | South Korean giant Samsung opened a cybersecurity center for cars in Israel, in cooperation with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, CYMOTIVE Technologies, Deutsche Telekom Innovation Laboratories and Jerusalem Venture Partners, according to Globes. The International Cyber Security Smart Mobility Analysis and Research Test (SMART) Range in Israel will test cybersecurity solutions for the automobile industry, autonomous driving and general auto technologies, the report said. The conglomerate already operates a number of centers in Israel, including the Samsung Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Tel Aviv, focused on investing in Israeli startups and entrepreneurs, the Samsung Catalyst Fund, which specializes in seed investments and early-stage startups, and two R&D centers in Tel Aviv and Herzliya. Last month, Samsung was said to be in talks to open an Artificial Intelligence research center in Israel.

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November 16, 2017 | Indian multinational conglomerate Larsen  & Toubro (L&T) Technology Services announced they will set up a design center in Jerusalem as a global hub to further advance solutions in video, integrated circuits, and security. In a statement, the Mumbai-based hub calls it a “Center of Excellence” to develop and deliver Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design, hardware, and software-based security solutions to customers around the world. The center will focus on areas such as automotive, entertainment, Internet of Things (IoT), media, and telecom. L&T has also opened a sales office in Tel Aviv to offer engineering services in areas such as medical devices, plant engineering, semiconductors, and telecom. The company is in talks with Israeli universities for collaboration opportunities and R&D projects. It is developing the “smartest office campus” for an Israeli technology company in partnership with software giant Microsoft. L&T was founded in 1938. It currently has 15 delivery centers and 38 innovation labs.

 

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