July 26, 2015 | Internet giant Yahoo will establish its first startup accelerator in Israel, according to a Globes report. Yahoo’s first incubator is slated to open in September 2015 in Ramat Gan, with two additional Israeli accelerators possibly following in its footsteps. Software giant Microsoft, along with venture capital firm Entree Capital, will partner with Yahoo on this project.
News Briefs
July 26, 2015
Report: Yahoo Picks Israel For Its First Startup Accelerator
July 26, 2015
Pyramid Analytics Signs Deal With Microsoft
July 26, 2015 | Israeli company Pyramid Analytics, which develops business intelligence platforms for corporations, has signed a strategic agreement with software giant Microsoft. The deal is worth tens of million of dollars, according to a Calcalist report, which also speculates that Microsoft could eventually acquire Pyramid. Pyramid Analytics was founded in 2008 by Omri Kohl and Avi Peretz.
July 26, 2015
Israeli Startup Leadspace Raises $18M
July 26, 2015 | Israeli startup Leadspace has raised $18 million in a round of funding led by Battery Ventures. Founded in 2007 as Data Essence by Amnon Mishor and Yaron Karasik, Leadspace generates leads for its customers on social media. The company is based in San Francisco and Tel Aviv and backed by Israeli venture capital firms JVP and Vertex, in addition to Battery Ventures.
July 26, 2015
Report: Teva To Buy Allergan’s Generic Drug Unit For $45B
July 26, 2015 | Israeli pharmaceuticals giant Teva is in talks to acquire Allergan’s generic drug business for $45 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The deal is expected to close tomorrow. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Allergan is a global pharmaceutical company. Teva was originally founded in 1901 as Salomon, Levin, and Elstein.
July 23, 2015
London Mayor Boris Johnson To Visit Israel
July 23, 2015 | The mayor of the City of London Boris Johnson will visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories this fall, according to an announcement made by the British Ambassador David Quarrey at a UK Israel Tech Hub event on Wednesday. In his visit, Johnson will be accompanied by a tech-oriented delegation from the UK with the goal of promoting cooperation in the fields of tech and innovation. Johnson, who has already visited countries like Singapore with the goal of promoting “smart cities”, has stated in the past emphasized his focus on fintech and digital health companies as these are two of the strongest tech fields in the UK. The tech relations between Israel and the UK have seen a boost in recent years due to the creation of the Embassy’s UK Israel Tech Hub, a strategic center promoting relations between Israeli and English startup companies and entities.
July 23, 2015
Newly Appointed British Ambassador Announces Water Tech Grants
July 23, 2015 | David Quarrey, the new British Ambassador to Israel, announced that the British government to commit £200,000 ($312,000) to promote water research between UK, Israeli and Middle Eastern scholars. The British Council Trilateral Water Scheme is joined by two other newly initiated programs: the UK-Israel Science and Innovation Lectureship Grants in water science and agriscience, and the UK-Israel Researcher Links Fellowships in water science. Quarry launched the programs just nine days into his position after visiting Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute.
July 22, 2015
Vizo News Raises $1M
July 22, 2015 | Vizo News, an Israeli-created platform that presents trending headlines based on interests, announced that it raised more than $1 million in early-stage funding from angel investors in Israel and the US. In addition, Vizo launched its app today in the App Store and Google Play store. Vizo was founded in 2014 by Dr. Haim Dahan and co-founder Gillian Baxter.
July 22, 2015
Israel Launches Second Round Of Grand Challenges Program
July 22, 2015 | The second round of the Grand Challenges program, an international initiative to encourage solutions for global food safety and health challenges, is being launched by the Israeli government. Launching in the US, Canada, India, Brazil, China and more, the challenge is geared towards solving serious issues in developing countries. Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will grant money to ten initiatives to solve these problems.
July 22, 2015
BondIT Selected For Accenture Accelerator
July 22, 2015 | The Israeli company providing bond portfolio management BondIT was chosen to participate in the accelerator for financial technologies Accenture. The unique program, which will take place in Hong Kong during the month of September, will last 12 weeks and will aid fintech startups in the Asia-Pacific region build their product and reach strategic customers. The Accenture program is sponsored by a number of notable international banks including: Bank of America, Credit Suisse, China Construction Bank, and Morgan Stanley, among others. BondIT was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel.
July 21, 2015
Checkmarx To Hire 80 Employees
July 21, 2015 | After raising $84 million in funding from Insight Venture Partners, Checkmarx announced that it will hire an additional 80 employees, to be added to the company’s existing 160 employees in Israel and around the world. The company is looking for developers as well as Devops managers, among other positions. Checkmarx was founded in 2006 as a cybersecurity company by Maty Siman.
July 21, 2015
invi Raises $2M
July 21, 2015 | The interactive messaging platform invi announced that it raised $2 million in a round led by Seven Seas Ventures. F50, InnoValley, Streamline Ventures and Pre-Angel also participated in the round. The startup plans to use the funding to continue its growth as well as the development of new products. Based in Palo Alto, California, invi was founded in 2012 by Iddo Tal.
July 21, 2015
Vroom Raises $54M In Funding
July 21, 2015 | The used car marketplace Vroom announced that it raised $54 million from investors. One of the named investors includes former Denver Bronco’s quarterback John Elway. Vroom plans to use the funds to expand its platform that buys, fixes and resells used cars on the Internet. The latest investment in Vroom brings total funding in the company to $108 million since it was founded in 2013. Vroom’s service is currently only available in the US. The company is headed by CEO Allon Bloch.
July 21, 2015
Report: FIMI To Raise Sixth Fund
July 21, 2015 | According to a “Globes” report, FIMI Opportunity Funds will begin raising funds for its sixth fund “FIMI 6 Fund”. FIMI hopes to raise at least $1 billion for the sixth fund, bringing the total for the FIMI fund to $3.1 billion. FIMI was founded by its CEO Ishay Davidi. FIMI has invested in a number of companies, including medical technology startups in Israel.
July 21, 2015
Swayy Acquired By SimilarWeb
July 21, 2015 | The Israeli web traffic and mobile analytics company SimilarWeb announced that it will acquire content discovery platform Swayy. The deal is valued at less than $5 million and was conducted with the hope of expanding SimilarWeb’s team as well as its content recommendation capabilities. Swayy previously raised $550,000 from Elevator Fund, Star Farm Ventures and RSL. Swayy was founded in 2013 by Ohad Frankfurt, Oz Katz, Shlomi Babluki and Lior Degani.
July 21, 2015
WireX Raises $9.3M
July 21, 2015 | The Israeli cyber company WireX announced that it raised $9.3 million in a recent funding round. The round was led by Vertex Venture Capital together with Entree Capital, Magma VC and private investors. WireX plans to use the funds raised to expand its Israel R&D center and to establish the company’s headquarters in the United States. WireX was founded in 2010 by Tomer Saban, Gilboa Davara and Vadim Lipovetsky.
