October 26, 2015 | Chinese medical company Xizang Haisco Pharmaceutical Group (Haisco) has invested $10 million into Israeli medical device company, Endospan. As part of the deal, Haisco will have exclusive rights within China to distribute Endospan’s heart stents. Based in Herzliya, Endospan was founded by CEO Alon Shalev and CTO Rafi Benary, and has already raised $25 million, including financing from Sequoia Capital and the Accelmed Fund.
News Briefs
October 26, 2015
Endospan Raises $10M From Chinese Pharma Giant
October 26, 2015
Roman Abramovich Invests In AltaIR
October 26, 2015 | Millhouse Capital, the investment fund owned by Roman Abramovich is investing an undisclosed amount in AltaIR, the venture capital firm led by Russian-Austrian investor Igor Ryabenkiy. AltaIR has already invested in almost 80 companies from Israel, the US, Europe and Australia. Among its early stage investments in Israel are Gbooking, Crowdx, Klear, and Correlor.
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October 26, 2015
SimilarWeb Raises $25M
October 26, 2015 | SimilarWeb, the Israeli startup that allows websites to analyze and compare their traffic statistics to competing websites, announced today the closing of a $25 million growth equity round led by Naspers, the global internet and media group, and Investor Lord David Alliance. This round brings SimilarWeb’s total funding to $65 million. The additional capital will be used to aggressively expand the company’s operations including opening new offices and furthering its acquisition strategy. Launched in 2007 by Or Offer and Nir Cohen, the company is being touted as the possible next Israeli unicorn.
October 25, 2015
After Raising $35M, Everything.me Shuts Down
October 25, 2015 | Everything.me, the Israeli startup that developed new functionality for mobile devices, has abruptly shut down. The news comes after the company already raised $35 million from the likes of Telefonica Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). At the moment the company does not have plans to sell the intellectual property to another company, but the 36 employees of the company will be let go. Founded in 2010, Everything.me developed a launcher for Android devices that added contextual capabilities to mobile phones.
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October 25, 2015
Chinese Innovation Conference Honors Israel
October 25, 2015 | An Israeli delegation of startups has been invited as Guest of Honor to the Pujiang Innovation Forum, held this week in Shanghai. Led by Israeli Chief Scientist, Avi Hasson, the delegation includes companies looking to break into the Chinese market, as well as companies already active there, such as QR code developer, VisuaLead.
October 25, 2015
Nova-Lumos Signs $15M Contract With US Gov’t
October 25, 2015 | The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has signed a $15 million contract with Israeli solar company Nova-Lumos to bring solar electricity to rural communities in Nigeria. The deal was announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum, held Oct. 20-21 in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2012 by Nir Marom and Davidi Vortman, Nova-Lumos, has developed stand alone solar panels, which can be activated by a text message and can supply enough electricity to charge a mobile phone, operate a radio and illuminate a home.
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October 25, 2015
MannKind Trades On Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
October 25, 2015 | Bio-medical company MannKind announced that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) has approved the new listing of it’s common shares. The American company, which develops treatments for diabetes, already trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Hakan Edstrom, President and CEO of MannKind, said that the dual listing will allow his company to diversify its shareholder base.
October 25, 2015
Worthy Raises $8M In Series B
October 25, 2015 |Worthy, the on-line marketplace for pre-owned luxury goods, has raised $8 million in a Series B funding round led by Carmel Ventures. Other investors in the current round include previous investors Dr. Meir Barel, the founder of Star Ventures, and Eddy Shalev, a Worthy board member and the founder of Genesis Ventures. The new injection of capital will be used to expand its product offering and presence in the US market. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Ben De-Kalo, Worthy is an online luxury auction platform that brings together buyers and sellers of diamonds, watches, rings, and other high-end items.
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October 25, 2015
Fortissimo Invests $10M Into Origene Seed
October 25, 2015 | Private Equity firm Fortissimo invested $10.3 million into seed company Origene Seeds. Fortissimo will acquire half of Origene’s shares, currently owned by Origene cofounder Dov Godinger, and provide a cash injection into the company to accelerate its growth. Following the deal, Fortissimo will become an equal partner in the company with Eyal Vardi, Origene’s other cofounder.
October 25, 2015
Perrigo Lays Off 800 Employees
October 25, 2015 | Irish pharmaceutical company Perrigo is expected to cut 800 jobs, some of which could be in their two Israel manufacturing plants. The decision comes as an effort to create shareholder value and fend off a hostile takeover bid from Dutch pharmaceutical Mylan that began earlier this year.
October 22, 2015
Medical Startup Peekaboo Wins Technion Competition
October 22, 2015 | Israeli medical device startup, Peekaboo, won the Technion’s $10,000 BizTEC prize for addressing the problem of collecting urine from infants. The 11 companies competing for the top prize spent the summer at BizTEC’s accelerator, a program for early-stage ventures in a variety of fields from the Technion.
October 22, 2015
Nuro Messaging App Raises $2M
October 21, 2015 | Nuro Secure Messaging has secured $2 million in a round of funding, led by Karen Evolutions Partners. Founded in Tel Aviv in 2014 and run by CEO and Co-Founder Eran Pfeffer, Nuro has developed an enterprise grade secure messaging platform which combines encryption, transparency and compliance.
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October 22, 2015
US Researchers Win Israeli Prize For Innovation In Transportation
October 22, 2015 | Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu announced the winners of the 2015 Samson-Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation: Professor Jay D. Keasling from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Professor John B. Goodenough from the University of Texas at Austin, USA, who will share the Prize equally. The two distinguished scientists have been awarded the prestigious Prize for their innovative scientific and technological contributions that have the potential to lead to the development of alternative fuels for transportation, replacing the fast depleting fossil fuels which are the major fuels used nowadays in transportation.
October 22, 2015
Wix Launches Music 2.0
October 22, 2015 | Israeli-founded Wix.com, the leading global web development platform, announced today the launch of Wix Music 2.0, its one-stop-shop technological solution for musicians and the online music industry. Headlined by a partnership with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis the Wix Music launch also includes an innovative campaign on YouTube titled #OpeningAct that will generate more than 100 million views for Wix Music users’ videos.
October 22, 2015
Cyber Security Company Cytegic Raises An Additional $3M
October 22, 2015 | Cytegic, a provider of cyber security, announced it has completed its second round of angel funding, securing an additional $3 million from a prominent set of angel investors, bringing total funding in the company to $6 million. Cytegic will use this investment to accelerate its U.S. expansion, starting with the opening of its U.S. headquarters in New Jersey and the addition of Josh Morris as vice president of Sales, North America. Founded in 2012 and based in Tel Aviv, the company is run by CEO Shay Zandani, founder of the Israeli Air Force’s Information Warfare department, and the company’s Executive Chairman is Carmi Gillon, the former head of Shabak, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency.
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