News Briefs

September 13, 2017 | Zeitgold, an Israeli AI company based in Berlin, just raised $11.97m in Series A funding. The company offers a solution for small businesses who want to save time managing their finances. Zeitgold’s end-to-end solution allows cafes, restaurants, and other small businesses to manage bookkeeping, payroll, invoices, and more through coordination with a tax adviser on a smartphone. The funds will be invested in a new Tel Aviv-based R&D facility as well as testing new products with customers. Zeitgold was founded in 2015 by Stefan Jeschonnek, Jan Deepen, and Kobi Eldar.

 

 

 

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 September 14, 2017 | The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has just marked a new milestone in its partnership with Cornell University. The Institute has just opened Cornell Tech, a tech-focused graduate school on New York’s Roosevelt Island. The campus is a new spot for the growing technology and innovation scene in New York. It will expand the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, a cornerstone of Cornell Tech. The Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute was established in 2013 with the help of a $133 million donation from Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, founding chairman and CEO emeritus of Qualcomm and Joan Klein Jacobs. [Photo: Julienne Schaer]

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 September 13, 2017 | Tel Aviv University has been ranked 9th in the world for producing successful startup founders, according to the 2017 PitchBook report. It ranks above American university Yale, Princeton, and UCLA. The PitchBook report says 582 TAU entrepreneurs started 486 companies raising initial capital from investors. Tel Aviv University has ranked in PitchBook’s top 10 for four years and is the only one in the top 10 located outside of the United States. The report ranked Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 14th place and Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 35th place. PitchBook gathers information to provide analysis regarding startups and venture capital for investors. [Photo: tec_estromberg]

 

 

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 September 13, 2017 | Tamir Fishman investment house CEO Eldad Tamir, and former Intel vice president Dedi Perlmutter are launching a new technology-related investment fund worth NIS 400 million ($113 million). The fund, Eucalyptus, is a spinoff of a previous fund started by by both investors in 2015. The original fund was discontinued. The new fund is part of a tender published by the Ministry of Finance and the Israel Securities Authority designed to provide funding to startups. An IPO on the stock exchange is already being considered, with capital to be raised from institutional investors.

 

 

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September 12, 2017 | Medical equipment company Medtronic is the first company to establish new development centers in Israel through the Israel Innovation Authority. The firm will receive a $14 million grant from the Innovation Authority in return for hiring 100 extra employees in their new development center in Jerusalem and Yokneam. Medtronic already has cooperation with the Israeli medical equipment industry as it has 750 employees in Israel out of 85,000 employees worldwide. The company was founded by Palmer, Hermundslie, Daniel Grossman, Earl Bakken, and Patrick Wells.

 

 

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September 11, 2017 | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has created an innovative partnership with Chicago’s Current Research Consortium of academics and water management groups to drive economic development and develop solutions to the world’s water challenges. This Memorandum of Understanding an agreement that both parties will work together to test and approve water technologies. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is currently in Israel with a group of business leaders, investors, water experts and more, to establish cooperation between the two groups. [Photo: Michael Ball]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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September 10, 2017 | Innoviz Technologies, the Israeli startup that develops LiDAR technology, has raised $65 million from Delphi Automotive and Magna International, two of the world’s largest automotive suppliers. It is expected to raise more capital from these strategic partners in the coming weeks. Innoviz develops LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser sensor technology that builds a detailed 3D image after scanning a car’s surroundings. It was founded in January 2016 by Oren Buskila, Zohar ZIsapel, Omer David Keilaf, Amit Steinberg, and Oren Rosenzweig.  [Photo: Land Rover MENA]

 

 

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September 7, 2017 | Intel will integrate the Israeli-developed freeD video technology into 11 American football stadiums in the upcoming NFL season. The sports imaging technology, developed by Israeli startup Replay Technologies,was acquired by Intel for $175 million a year and a half ago. It captures action-packed moments from sports events at every angle, using a system of HD cameras and servers to create an immersive 3D experience. Through stadiums equipped with this 360-degree replay technology, fans can watch and share parts of the game through the NFL.com website, NFL’s YouTube app and channel, and more. [Photo: US Navy]

 

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September 6, 2017 | Israeli flavor and fine ingredients company Frutarom Industries has acquired Turpaz Perfume and Flavor Extracts, an Israeli fragrances company, for $ 15.1 million. This is Frutarom’s seventh acquisition in 2017. Founded in 1933, Frutarom is led by president and CEO Ori Yehudai. [Photo: Taura]

 

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September 4, 2017 | Israeli mobile taxi-hailing service Via has raised $250 million in a financing round led by car manufacturer Daimler, which brings its total equity to $387 million. Founded in 2012 by Israelis Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, Via has developed an algorithm that matches, in real time, multiple passengers traveling in the same direction with a single large SUV or van.

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August 31, 2017 | Israeli online ticketing platform GBG Sports Travel is about to be sold for $40 million, according to a report by Calcalist. Founded in 2012 by Benny Halamish and Guy Myger, the company specializes in hospitality packages with VIP tickets to Europe’s most famous soccer clubs. [photo by UggBoy]

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August 29, 2017 | Israeli company ScaleMP, a provider of virtualization solutions for high-end computing, has raised $10 million. The funds will further accelerate the company’s growth, enhance the company’s products and technology, and expand its support for partners. The investment was led by Israel’s Leumi Partners. Founded in 2003 by Shai Fultheim, the company has raised $18 million to date.

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August 28, 2017 | American pharma giant Gilead has agreed to buy Israel’s Kite Pharma for a whopping $11.9 billion, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The Israeli cancer-treatment company today confirmed the report. Kite Pharma, which specializes in developing therapies that use the patient’s immune system to treat cancer, was founded in 2009 by Joshua A. Kazam and Dr. Arie Belldegrun, an Israeli-American oncologist. It went public in 2014 (NASDAQ:KITE). Some of the company’s developments are based on research conducted at Israel’s Weizmann Institute.

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August 28, 2017 | Israeli startup R2Net, which operates popular diamond trading website JamesAllen.com, has been sold to Bermuda-based Signet Jewelers for $328 million. Now one of the world’s largest online jewelry retailers, the company was founded by Israeli Oded Edelman, James Schultz, Michele Sigler and Dean Lederman in 2006. [photo by Wesley Tingey]

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August 28, 2017 | Pharma giant Merck has opened an incubator for startup companies in Israel. Called PMatX, it will address the topic of next-generation electronics. The program will be supported by additional partners, including HP and Battery Ventures. Its fomration is supported by the Technology Innovation Lab program of the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). Merck will invest € 20 million over the first three years.

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