June 10, 2015 | Israeli Ambassador to Germany Yakov Hadas-Handelsman announced that Fraunhofer SIT will establish a cybersecurity innovation center in Israel. The main focus of the joint research activities is to bridge the innovation gap and accelerate the development of secure software, systems, and services. The planned center will provide German and Israeli industry with a dynamic research and experimentation platform for cybersecurity. The center is expected to become the leading place for cybersecurity research for Israeli and German industry.
News Briefs
June 10, 2015
Fraunhofer SIT Establishes Cybersecurity Innovation Center In Israel
June 10, 2015
OurCrowd Launches $10M Seed Fund
June 10, 2015 | Israeli crowd-funding firm OurCrowd has launched OurCrowd First, a $10 million fund focusing on seed funding for early-stage startups. The company plans to bring the equity crowdfunding model to fund at least 20 seed stage companies. The investment minimum is $50,000 for accredited investors. The new fund will be managed by general partners Eduardo Shoval and Yori Nelken. Headquartered in Jerusalem, OurCrowd was founded in 2012 by Jon Medved.
June 09, 2015
Colabo Raises $7M In Series A Funding
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une 9, 2015 | Israeli CRM solution Colabo announced that it raised $7 million in Series A funding from Marker LLC. The round was conducted together with Kaedan Capital and existing investors Paul Maritz, Raghu Raghuram, Ray Rothrock and The Hive. The funds will reportedly be used to support the company’s growth, which currently stands at 50 percent by month. Colabo was founded in 2010 by Yoav Dembak, Asaf Wexler and Naama Halperin.
June 09, 2015
Report: Teva Moves Headquarters To Ra’anana
June 9, 2015 | The Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva will move its global headquarters from Pitach Tikvah to Ra’anana, according to a “Globes” report. Teva reportedly wants to concentrate it’s activities in one central location. It is estimated that the construction costs of the new headquarters will cost Teva a total of NIS 500 million ($130 million). The location of the new headquarters will be close to the SAP and NICE Systems’ offices in Ra’anana.
June 09, 2015
IdMlogic Acquired By CA Technologies
June 9, 2015 | The Israeli company IdMlogic was acquired by the major software company CA Technologies. Though the financial details of the deal were not disclosed, it is believed that the deal is valued at $20 million. IdMlogic develops intelligent identity management solutions. IdMlogic was founded in 2004 by Iris Sharoni and Mike Trubatch.
June 09, 2015
Kyma Medical Acquired For $35M
June 9, 2015 | Kyma Medical Technologies and Elron Electronic Industries announced that they signed an MOU for its sale to an unnamed company for $35 million. Kyma Medical has developed a radio frequency-based device that remotely monitors of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients. Kyma Medical was founded in 2008 by Assaf Bernstein and Uriel Weinstein.
June 09, 2015
Menlo Security Raises $25M In Series B Funds
June 9, 2015 | The malware protection startup Menlo Security announced that it raised $25 million in Series B funding. The round was led by new investor Sutter Hill Ventures together with existing investors General Catalyst, Osage University Partners and Engineering Capital. The latest round brings total funding in the company to $35 million. Menlo Security was founded in 2013 by Amir Ben-Afraim and Gautam Altekar.
June 09, 2015
Intel Donated $7.5M To Israeli Educational Programs In 2014
June 9, 2015 | Giant chip maker Intel invested $7.5 million in academic and technological programs in Israel last year, according to the company’s corporate responsibility report. Intel Israel funded several school programs, technological projects and equipment. A worldwide processor manufacturer and distributor, Intel has its largest research and development center and chip factory outside of the US in Israel, employing nearly 10,000 locally.
June 08, 2015
Weizmann, Trinity College Join Forces To Fight Inflammatory Diseases, Cancer
June 8, 2015 | The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Trinity College in Ireland are joining forces to fight inflammatory diseases and cancer. The joint effort was announced at the second annual Joint Symposium being held this week in Israel, seeking to promote the exchange of more visiting students and researchers between the institutions.
June 08, 2015
Eric Schmidt Praises Israel’s Entrepreneurial Spirit
June 8, 2015 | The CEO of Google Eric Schmidt praised Israel’s “culture of entrepreneurship” at an event for Weizmann Institute students and researchers on Sunday. Schmidt reportedly claimed that Israel succeeds in entrepreneurship because it is a nation that refuses to play by the rules. He also reportedly stated that Israelis have an impressive influence on the progress and pace of scientific research and technological development. Israeli news source “Yediot Aharonot” reports that Schmidt is currently on a short visit in Israel, accompanied by Google VP of Search Yossi Matias.
June 08, 2015
Report: eBay CEO Bids Adieu To Israeli Employees
June 8, 2015 | According to reports in “Globes”, the global CEO of eBay John Donahoe visited Israel last week and bid goodbye to the Israeli employees of the ecommerce company. Last September, Donahoe announced that eBay would depart from its partnership with online payments company PayPal and that he would be leaving the company. According to “Globes”, Donahoe took advantage of his visit in Israel to depart from the Israeli engineers at eBay and PayPal’s development centers in Israel.
June 08, 2015
AltaIR Capital Establishes Accelerator For Young Entrepreneurs
June 8, 2015 | AltaIR Capital announced that it will establish an accelerator for young entrepreneurs. The accelerator program, called AltaLab, will focus on identifying promising early-stage companies with the goal of making the ventures ready for seed investment within a period of three months. AltaLab has already begun its first cycle with five projects and has a cooperation agreement with Microsoft BizSpark, a program to support startups. AltaIR Capital was founded in 2010 by Igor Ryabenkiy.
June 08, 2015
Allium Medical’s System Receives FDA Approval
June 8, 2015 | Medical equipment company Allium Medical announced that it has approval from the US Food & Drug Administration to move forward with marketing Gardia Medical’s WIRION EPD system. The system works in the arteries that bring blood to the brain to identify possible catheterization. Allium Medical was founded in 2010.
June 08, 2015
EndoChoice Raises $96M On NYSE
June 8, 2015 | The Israeli-American medical equipment company EndoChoice raised $96 million in its offering on the New York Stock Exchange at a company value of $366 million, after money. The offering, which was valued lower than expected, was led by JP Morgan and Bank of America. EndoChoice was founded in 2008 by Will Parks and Mark G. Gilreath and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.
June 08, 2015
Strauss Enters Water Venture With Haier Group
June 8, 2015 | The subsidiary of the Israeli food and beverage company Strauss Group announced that it will expand its joint venture with China’s Haier Group for water purification technology. The new joint venture will be called Qingdao HSW Health Water Appliance Co., in which Strauss will have a 34 percent stake and Haier Group a 66 percent stake. Strauss will pay approximately $8 million for its stake in the company with an option to purchase an additional 15 percent in 2017. Strauss Group was founded in 1933 by Richard Strauss.
