May 20, 2015 | The Shavit Capital Fund headed by Gary Leibler raised $75 million, according to a “Globes” report. The majority of investors in the round are from the United States and include institutions and private individuals. The first two funds that Shavit Capital raised each totaled $30 million, investing in Israeli companies like ReWalk Robotics, Foamix Pharmaceuticals, Brainsway and more. Gary Leibler founded and manages Shavit Capital.
News Briefs
May 20, 2015
Report: Shavit Capital Raises $75M Fund
May 20, 2015
eVolution Networks Raises $22.5M From Warren Buffett
May 20, 2015 | The Israeli energy saving solutions company eVolution Networks received a $22.5 million investment from Warren Buffett’s IES Holding and GE Ventures. eVolution Networks hopes to use the funds to grow its global presence and to promote its solutions in new industries. eVolution Networks was founded in 2011 by CEO Roy Morad and CTO Idan Cohen.
May 20, 2015
Cooperation At China-Israel Innovation Park Expanding
May 20, 2015 | The China-Israel Innovation Park in the eastern Chinese city of Changzhou announced that 15 Israeli companies have invested in the park. The companies deal mostly with medical equipment, the electronics industry and financial tech as well as 8 other companies dealing with trade, commercial affairs and legal consulting. In addition, universities and academic institutions in the city are working to expand their cooperation in the high-tech industry. Just yesterday, “China’s Google” Baidu invested millions in Israeli content-recommendation startup Taboola.
May 19, 2015
Hebrew U And Thomas Jefferson U Sign MOU
May 19, 2015 | Dean of the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine Prof. David Lichtstein signed a memorandum of understanding with Thomas Jefferson University to expand academic cooperation. The MOU was signed by Provost at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania expressing a desire to exchange academic staff, research fellows and students, as well as working to collaborate on scientific research.
May 19, 2015
Zeek Raises $3M In Series A Funding
May 19, 2015 | The gift voucher marketplace Zeek announced that it raised $3 million in Series A funding. Blumberg Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Waze founder Uri Levine participated in the round. Zeek reportedly plans to use the new funding to speed up its European expansion. Zeek was founded in 2013 by Itay Erel, Ziv Isaiah and Daniel Zelkind.
May 19, 2015
Medigus To Issue ADS In US
May 19, 2015 | The Israeli medical devices company Medigus filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue its shares as American depository receipts. Medigus currently has a market-cap of NIS 120 million ($31.1 million) and has planned for some time to trade their securities in the US. The largest shareholder in Medigus is OrbiMed Advisors. Medigus was founded in 2000 and develops innovative endoscopic devices.
May 19, 2015
Spondoolies Tech Raises $1.5M From Bitcoin Shop
May 19, 2015 | The Israeli Bitcoin mining startup Spondoolies Tech announced that it raised $1.5 million from Bitcoin Shop. The announcement comes just weeks after the two companies decided to merge their activity with a desire to create the first publicly traded company dealing with Bitcoin transactions services. Spondoolies Tech was founded in 2013 and is headed by CEO and Chairman Guy Corem.
May 19, 2015
OCS To Establish Gov’t Authorized Genetic Database
May 19, 2015 | According to a “Globes” report, the Office of the Chief Scientist (OSC) plans to set up a genetic database to be authorized by the government. The matter is still under the consideration of the Office of the Chief Scientist’s Telem program for research and development and a think-tank headed by senior EMC executives is also part of the initiative.
May 19, 2015
Gett To Hire 150 More Employees In Israel
May 19, 2015 | The taxi-ordering application Gett announced that it plans to hire 300 more employees, half of which will work at the company’s development center in Israel. The announcement comes just a month before Gett adds new services to its repertoire, including pizza delivery, babysitter services, house calls and more. The remainder of the new employees will work out of Gett’s offices in New York, Russia and the UK. Gett was founded in 2010 by Shahar Waiser.
May 19, 2015
Intel Launches IoT Lab In Israel
May 19, 2015 | Tech giant Intel has launched an Internet of Things lab in Haifa, Israel. The lab will focus on smart homes, cities, agriculture and transportation. Intel has similar labs, which also serve as startup accelerators of sorts, in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Turkey. Israeli startups are invited to collaborate with Intel, which already employs 10,000 people locally, on hardware, software and storage platforms.
May 18, 2015
Baidu Invests Millions In Taboola
May 18, 2015 | The world’s fifth most popular website Baidu will invest millions in Israeli content recommendation platform Taboola, according to reports. Though the exact sum of the investment has yet to be confirmed, the funds put Taboola at a $1 billion company valuation and are set to go towards a potential public offering within the next two years. Baidu is the “Google of China,” the country’s largest search engine that will integrate Taboola’s content recommendation technology through a strategic agreement. Taboola was founded in 2006 by Adam Singolda.
May 18, 2015
Azrieli Foundation Donates $50M To Bar Ilan Med School
May 18, 2015 | The Azrieli Foundation announced that it will make a $50 million donation to the Bar Ilan School of Medicine in the northern Galilee region of Israel. On the eve of Bar Ilan’s 60th anniversary, the donation is the largest ever received by the organization, as well as the largest ever donated by the Azrieli Foundation. The Azrieli Foundation’s gift will be matched by the Israeli government, providing the medical school with a total of $100 million in new investments. Bar Ilan’s Azrieli School of Medicine was inaugurated in the city of Safed in October of 2011 and now serves over 550 medical and PhD degree students.
May 18, 2015
Report: TriVentures Raises $75M Fund
May 18, 2015 | According to a “Calcalist” report, the Israeli life sciences venture capital firm TriVentures raised $75 million for its third fund, with the goal of raising up to $100 million. The fund currently manages about $100 million total, raised in its first two funds. Major investors participated in the third fund, including Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, and other large health providers, as well as Samsung and Nikon. TriVentures was founded by Michal Geva and is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel.
May 18, 2015
Report: Soros Sells Shares In Teva
May 18, 2015 | According to a “Globes” report, the Soros Fund Management, the hedge fund belonging to billionaire George Soros, announced that it has sold its holdings in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The Fund reports that it sold the shares in the first quarter of 2015 and bought shares in companies like Noble Energy and construction companies. The Soros Fund currently manages a total of nearly $30 billion and holds shares in about 200 companies around the world.
May 18, 2015
BIRD Sends 12 Israeli MedTech Companies To US
May 18, 2015 | The Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD) organized a delegation of Israeli digital healthcare companies to visit the United States this week. The delegation will meet with representatives from major hospitals as well as large medical device companies including Samsung, Medtronic, Sanofi and more. The startups that will be part of the delegation include: Consumer Physics, Healarium, HealthWatch Technologies, Kyma Medical, LifeonKey, medCPU, Medisafe Project, Medivizor, Sweetch, Telesofia, Totally and Tyto Care. BIRD is a cooperative effort between the US and Israel, and the delegation has been organized together with Israel’s Ministry of the Economy.
