News Briefs

October 22 2015 | Computer memory giant SanDisk has been acquired by Western Digital for $19 billion. Founded by Israeli-born Eli Harari, Sandisk operates four R&D centers in Israel, and its 650 Israeli employees could be affected by the merger. Many of the company’s Israeli employees joined SanDisk through its acquisition of Dov Moran’s M-Systems for $1.5 billion in 2006.

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October 22, 2015 | Microsoft has announced that it will acquire Israeli cyber security company Secure Islands for $100-150 million. The deal marks Microsoft’s fifth Israeli acquisition since the beginning of this year; three of the acquired companies develop cyber security technology. Founded in 2006 by brothers Aki and Yuval Eldar, Secure Islands is able to track an organization’s documents throughout the web.

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October 22, 2015 | Following the success of its two early-stage funds, Singulariteam has announced the launch of their new $30 million fund for late-stage companies. The Tel-Aviv based firm, founded and led by Moshe Hogeg, will use the new investment vehicle for large scale investment in up to three tech companies, with an annual income of $15 million or more. Among Singulariteam’s portfolio companies is the Israeli startup StoreDot, which is developing electric car batteries that recharge in less than five minutes.

 

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October 21, 2015 | Mobileye founders Prof Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram received the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award at the ceremony organized by EY accounting firm. The co-founders will represent Israel in the World Entrepreneurs of the Year competition in Monaco in June 2016. Founded in 1999, the Israeli company has developed vision-based advanced driver assistance systems, providing warnings for collision prevention and mitigation.

 

 

 

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October 21, 2015 | Israeli cyber security startup, Illusive Networks, has raised an additional $22 million in its Series B round of fundraising. New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the round, while Bessemer Venture Partners, Citi Ventures, Marker LLC, and Eric Schmidt’s personal fund, Innovation Endeavors, also participated. Israeli cyber fund Team8 (also backed by Innovation Endeavors) was the startup’s initial investor. Founded by CTO Ofer Israeli and run by CEO Shlomo Touboul, Illusive Networks came out of stealth mode earlier this year with their cyber security system designed to be a ‘hall of mirrors’ to distract and mislead hackers with false information.

 

 

 

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October 21, 2015 | Gordian Surgical, a portfolio company of Trendlines Medical, recently raised $1 million, including an investment from Virtus Inspire Ventures, a Chinese venture capital firm. Gordian intends to use the funds to complete American (FDA) and European (CE) regulatory processes, begin in vivo trials, and prepare for market penetration. Led by CEO Zvi Pe’er, Gordian has developed an innovative trocar that offers surgeons a simple, economical solution for opening and suturing internal incisions made during laparoscopic surgery.

 

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October 21 2015 | WeWork, a real estate company which provides shared workspace and services for entrepreneurs, startups and freelancers, is set to fundraise again this year, at a valuation of $10-15 billion, Globes reports. Founded by Israeli Adam Neumann and his American partner Miguel McKelvey in 2010, We Work already raised $400 million in June of this year when the company was valued at $10 billion.

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October 20, 2015 | Israeli-developped traffic navigation app Waze just got its biggest update since being acquired by Google in 2013. Developed in Israel, Waze is the navigation app that uses crowdsourced traffic data to show drivers the fastest routes and warn them about incidents on the road. The update, which is only available on Apple’s iOS for now, brings a new design that makes it easier to use, namely fewer taps, so that drivers can focus on driving.

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October 20, 2o15 | Tel Aviv University placed 9th in PitchBook report for undergraduate programs that produced the most startup founders and first outside the U.S. According to the report, over the past five years TAU produced 250 undergraduate entrepreneurs – founders or co-founders of startups – who between them started 204 companies. On average, those Israeli startups attracted $1,754,000 in venture capital investments. All other universities on the top list of undergraduate entrepreneurship successes were located in the US, and included institutions such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, MIT, and Harvard.

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October 20, 2015 | Tel Aviv-based Wibbitz has announced its partnerships with USA Today Sports, Hearst and ViralNova. Founded in 2011 and run by Co-founder and CEO Zohar Dayan, Wibbitz, helps online publishers create video summaries of their articles based on the company’s proprietary content analysis. With $10.8 million in funding , the company has already partnered with British publishers including, The Guardian, the BBC and The Telegraph.

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October 20, 2015 | Israeli software company Sapiens International filed for a secondary Nasdaq offering up to $80 million. Founded in 1982 and run by CEO and President Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens develops computer software solutions for the insurance industry. In the previous Nasdaq offering in 2013, the company raised $40 million at $6.25 per share.

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October 20 2015 | Apple plans to launch its music streaming service in Israel in the first quarter of 2016, Globes reports. Apple Music is the music streaming service by Apple with which users can stream music to their devices. The service includes the curated internet radio station Beats 1, the blog platform Connect for artists to share media with fans, and Radio which incorporates some aspects of iTunes Radio. Apple Music provides music recommendations based on users’ tastes and is integrated with Siri voice commands.

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October 20, 2015 | Israeli public transit app Moovit is rolling out its service in India, beginning with Bangalore. Founded 2011 and led by Co-Founder and CEO Nir Erez, Moovit combines transit data with inputs from commuters to provide live public transport information (i.e. when is the bus actually arriving) and suggest faster and more convenient routes. Already with $81.5 million in financing, Moovit is available in over 700 cities in 58 countries and claims 28 million users worldwide.

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October 20 2015 | Viola Private Equity has invested $30 million into the Israeli startup Pyramid Analytics. This investment follows Sequoia Capital’s initial investment of $11.5 million in 2013. This new financing will enable the company to expand to new markets and create strategic partnerships, while continuing to expand their R&D center in Israel. Founded in 2008 and led by CEO and Co-Founder, Omri Kohl, Pyramid Analytics develops advanced software systems for analyzing business processes.

 

 

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October 19, 2015 | Israeli bio-medical company Advanced Inhalation Therapies (AIT) has filled for initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The Rehovot-based company is expecting to raise up to $36 million, according to Renaissance Capital. Founded in 2011 and run by CEO and Co-Founder, Amir Avniel, AIT has cystic fibrosis and bronchiolitis drugs in Phase IIb clinical trials. Avniel was previously CEO of Rosetta Genomics, another Israeli bio-medical company, which he led to a Nasdaq IPO.

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