News Briefs

June 26, 2017 | “Israeli is under three to five cyber-attacks at any given moment,” Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu said today at the CyberWeek Conference, held at Tel Aviv University. Despite Israel’s leading position in cyber-security, “it’s a constant challenge,” he said. “As we enter the world of Internet of Things, the need for cyber-security is growing exponentially,” Netanyahu said. “This is a problem for all governments.” In Israel, “our national cyber-security center not only responds to attacks, but also prevents them.” With 600-700 cyber-security startups, “it’s a great advantage for a company today to be Israeli,” he said. “A few years ago, I decided to establish Israel as one of the leading cyber countries in the world, and by all accounts, we’re there.”

June 25, 2017 | Augury, an Israeli industrial Internet of Things (IIot) company, has raised $17 million in a Series B financing round. Founded in 2011 by Gal Shaul and Saar Yoskovitz, Augury provides mechanical diagnostics, combining artificial intelligence and IIoT technology to help industrial companies monitor and maintain their machinery in real-time. The round was co-led by Eclipse Ventures and Munich Re/HSB Ventures, and also included Sound Ventures, First Round Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and Pritzker Group Venture Capital. To date, the startup has raised $26 million in three funding rounds.

June 25, 2017 | Israel’s Innovation Authority has created a visa program in which foreign entrepreneurs can choose among 12 approved “landing pads” to establish entrepreneurship initiatives. Of the approved organizations are various investment funds, incubators, and nonprofits, such as: Tel Aviv Global, TechForGood, Lighthouse, and TheHive. If an entrepreneur’s initiative matures into a company within the first 24 months, they are then qualified to receive an expert’s visa for up to five years.

June 25, 2017 | Furniture giant IKEA is scouting for six to 10 Israeli startups for its upcoming IKEA Bootcamp, starting September 18. The Swedish company will hold an event in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 29 at WeWork, where startups will pitch their solutions to everyday challenges to key decisions makers from the IKEA Bootcamp team, in an attempt to earn a spot in the boot camp. Ultimately, 10 startups from all over the world will be chosen. [Photo: Courtesy]

June 25, 2017 | Israeli flavor and fine ingredient company Frutarom Industries has acquired 80 percent  Brasil Indústria E Comércio (SDFLC), a Brazilian producer of flavors for ice creams and desserts, for $33 million. This is Frutarom’s fourth acquisition in 2017, and will bolster the company’s presence in Brazil and Latin America. Founded in 1933, Frutarom is led by president and CEO Ori Yehudai. [Photo: Taura]

June 22, 2017 | Israeli startup Codota has raised $2 million in seed investment from Khosla Ventures, bringing the company’s total equity funding to $2.55 million. Codota has developed a pair-programmer for Java. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the program learns open-source code from the web, studies the augmentation of the code over time, suggests code for developers based on the open source knowledge, and predicts new code. This allows developers to save time by negating the need to skim through the web for code or recode, something that has already been developed. Codota was founded by Dror Weiss and Prof. Eran Tahav in 2013.

June 22, 2017 | Israeli crowd-funding firm OurCrowd has launched OurNetwork, a global investment community designed to help multinational corporations support, collaborate and invest in Israeli startups. Founded in 2012 by CEO Jon Medved, OurCrowd already boasts 17,000 individual  investors from 110 countries, who have invested some $400 million in 110 portfolio companies and funds.

June 21, 2017 | Technology giant Intel is teaming up with Israeli think-tank and venture capital firm Team8, to foster cyber-security innovation. The chip maker, which already employs thousands in the Startup Nation, joins current Team8 cyber syndicate members Microsoft, Cisco, Qualcomm, AT&T, Citigroup, Accenture, Nokia, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, and others. Intel will work with Team8 to secure future computing, IoT, mobile, automotive and cloud technologies. In other news, Israeli startup Illusive Networks said it would collaborate with Intel on cyber-security.

June 20, 2017 | Israeli medical marijuana startup iCAN has announced a joint venture with Australian company LeafCann Research and Advisory. The new venture will take advantage of Israel’s leadership position in the research and development of medical marijuana, in combination with Australia’s lax regulations. Founded in 2015, iCAN is a leading Israeli developer of cannabis-based formulations, clinical trials and cannabis testing. The firm is headed by Saul Kaye.

June 19, 2017 | Kaspersky Lab has opened a research and development center in Israel called the Future Tech Lab. Located in Jerusalem, the center will research cyber threats targeted at new technologies such as Internet of Things and automotives. Kaspersky Lab is a Russian cyber-security and anti-virus provider that has a presence in cyber-security hubs around the world. Researchers at the Future Tech Lab will work with other Kaspersky labs around the globe, providing organizations with information to protect against cyber-criminals.

June 19, 2017 | Mobileye’s shareholders approved their company’s sale to giant chip maker Intel for $15.3 billion. Mobileye was founded in Jerusalem, Israel, by Prof. Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram in 1999 and went public in 2014. It developed a warning system that alerts drivers of road hazards using software, cameras, and sensors.

June 19, 2017 | Israel’s CompuLab has filed for a $24 million IPO (initial public offering) on Nasdaq. Founded in 1992, the company is considered one of the world’s leading manufacturers of computer boards for embedded systems and miniature, fanless PCs.

June 15, 2017 | WhiteSource, an Israeli provider of continuous open source software security and compliance management, has secured $10 million in Series B financing. The round was led by 83North with additional participation from Microsoft Ventures and David Strohm of Greylock Partners. Founded in 2011 by Azi Cohen, Rami Sass and Ron Rymon, WhiteSource allows engineering, security and compliance officers to secure and manage the use of open-source components in their software.