July 20, 2015 | The Saudi-Arabian think tank Center for World University Rankings ranked three Israeli universities within the top 100. Hebrew University took the lead for Israel in the rankings, ranked 23rd, the Weizmann Institute was ranked 39th and Tel Aviv University 86th. The Center for World University Rankings is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
News Briefs
July 20, 2015
Israeli Universities Ranked In Top 100 On Saudi List
July 20, 2015
Israel, Spain Sign Agreement To Construct Huge Solar Plant
July 20, 2015 | The Israeli Ministry of Finance signed an agreement to construct a 121-megawatt solar power plant in the Negev desert. Israel’s Shikun & Binui as well as Spanish company Abengoa are discussing building the plant in Ashalim in the Negev desert, a project that they hope will be complete by 2018. The deal, worth nearly $1.05 billion, is being financed by the European Investment Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corp.
July 20, 2015
Report: Teva Considers Acquiring OWC
July 20, 2015 | According to a report in “TheMarker”, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is considering making a foray into the field of medical cannabis. The report stipulates that Teva has made an offer to the Israeli medical cannabis company One World Cannabis to begin acquiring its patents on medicinal cannabis strains. In Israel, there are currently 460 registered medical marijuana patents.
July 20, 2015
RedHill Raises $40M In ADS Offering
July 20, 2015 | The Israeli biopharmaceutical company RedHill BioPharma announced that it raised $40 million through its American Depository Shares at a price of $16.25 per share. The company will reportedly use the money raised in its ADS offering to being Phase III clinical trials on its product for the treatment of the bacteria responsible for causing ulcers. RedHill BioPharma is based in Ramat Gan, Israel.
July 20, 2015
Chiasma Raises $102M In NASDAQ IPO
July 20, 2015 | The Israeli drug development company Chiasma announced that it raised $102 million in a NASDAQ IPO. The company sold 6.3 million shares at $16 a piece with a market cap of $562 million. Chiasma had raised $70 million previously in a private placement. Chiasma also recently submitted its request to begin marketing its treatment for acromegaly. Chiasma was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Jerusalem.
July 20, 2015
Magic Leap To Establish Offices In Israel
July 20, 2015 | The augmented reality company Magic Leap will establish an Israeli research and development office to continue developing its technology. Founded by the son of Israeli immigrants to the US, Magic Leap plans to hire a number of new Israeli developers to be based out of its Ramat Gan office. Magic Leap, which was founded by Rony Abovitz in 2010, recently raised $542 million in a round led by Google together with other notable investors like Qualcomm Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz.
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July 20, 2015
Diocian To Represent Korea At Start Tel Aviv
July 20, 2014 | According to a report in “The Korea Times”, Israel has selected the Korean startup Diocian to represent the country at Start Tel Aviv 2015. Start Tel Aviv is an annual competition put on by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which 21 selected startups from different countries will compete as part of the annual DLD innovation festival. Diocian was founded in 2013 and is a music networking service for artists and musicians.
July 20, 2015
Weizmann Ranked 10th In World For Research
July 20, 2015 | The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel was ranked tenth in the world in an international research ranking. Conducted by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies of Leiden University in the Netherlands, the Weizmann Institute is the only institution in the top ten that is located outside of the United States. The ranking is based on numbers, including publishing statistics, citation data within papers, as well as weights for the size of the research institution. Weizmann has steadily risen in the ranking, from 19th place in 2006 to 10th place in 2015.
July 20, 2015
Microsoft To Acquire Adallom For $320M
July 20, 2015 | According to reports, Microsoft is set to acquire Israeli company Adallom for up to $320 million. If this price holds true, the acquisition of Adallom could be Microsoft’s largest ever acquisition in Israel. Adallom, a cloud security provider, has its headquarters in Palo Alto, California and its research and development center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Adallom was founded in 2012 by Adam Rappaport, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik.
July 20, 2015
ironSource Acquires Supersonic For $150M
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uly 20, 2015 | According to reports, the Israeli company ironSource will acquire the company monetizing mobile apps, Supersonic for $150 million. Since Supersonic was founded in 2008, it has raised $23.2 million in funding, with one of the main investors in the company being a Chinese investment firm SAIF Partners, among others. Supersonic was founded by Nissim Romano, Gil Shoham and Arik Czerniak.
July 19, 2015
Report: Cymmetria Raises $1.5M
July 19, 2015 | The Israeli information security company Cymmetria, which recently joined Y Combinator, raised $1.5 million according to a “Calcalist” report. The funds were raised from Y Combinator, Seedcamp and Felicis Ventures, along with private investors. This, the company’s first round of funding, was raised less than a month after the company raised $100,000 in seed funding. Cymmetria was founded in 2014 by Dean Sysman and Gadi Evron.
July 19, 2015
Microsoft Acquires FieldOne
July 19, 2015 | Microsoft has acquired the Israeli tech company FieldOne for an undisclosed amount. The provider of services for field providers, scheduling and dispatch, automated routing, inventory management and more. Microsoft will offer FieldOne’s services as part of its Dynamics CRM line. FieldOne is headquartered in New Jersey and was founded by Shlomo Baum in 2001.
July 19, 2015
LogDog Raises $3.5M
July 19, 2015 | LogDog, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, announced that it completed a $3.5 million funding round. The company will reportedly use the funds to strengthen its R&D efforts, launch new features on its Android app, launch an app compatible with the App Store and for recruiting new staff. The round was led by BRM Capital together with existing investors FirstTime Venture Capital, The Time, Maxfield Ventures and Curious Minds Investments. LogDog was founded in 2013 by Uri Brison and Shlomi Cohen.
July 19, 2015
NeuroDerm Raises $67M In Secondary Offering
July 19, 2015 | NeuroDerm announced that it raised $67 million in its secondary offering on NASDAQ at a company value of $365 million. The share price was set at $17 per share, with the company raising 17 percent more than it initially expected. The underwriters for the offering were Jeffreys and Cowen & Co. NeuroDerm was founded in 2003 and is based out of Rehovot, Israel.
July 19, 2015
Mapal Green Energy Postpones AIM IPO
July 19, 2015 | The cleantech company Mapal Green Energy will postpone its IPO on the AIM stock exchange in London, according to a “Globes” report. The assumption is that Mapal has put off its IPO in light of economic tensions in Europe surrounding the Greek crisis. Mapal planned to raise £2-3 million ($3.12-$4.68 million) at a company valuation of tens of millions of dollars. Mapal Green Energy was founded in 2008 by Hanoch Magen and Zeev Fisher.
