April 28, 2015 | Ziv-Av Engineering (ZAE) signed an agreement with China’s Bustil to design battery-changing stations for buses. The stations, based on technology developed by Shai Agassi’s company Better Place, will be constructed throughout the city of Nanjing, near Shanghai. ZAE was founded in 1990 by Dr. Zvi-Av.
News Briefs
April 28, 2015
Ziv-Av Designs Bus Charging Stations In China
April 28, 2015
Windward Raises $10.8M In Horizons Ventures Round
April 28, 2015 | The maritime data and analytics company Windward announced that it raised $10.8 million in a funding round led by Horizons Ventures. Windward’s CEO told TechCrunch that he will use the funds to build up the company’s data and analytics platform and to bring some of its products that are still in beta stage into full-scale production. Windward was founded in 2010 by Matan Peled and Ami Daniel.
April 28, 2015
IVC Reports: Israeli Cos. Raised $994M In Q1/2015
April 28, 2015 | According to a report from IVC Research Center, 166 Israeli high-tech companies raised a total of $994 million in the first quarter of 2015, the second highest quarterly amount in the past decade. The amount raised in Q1/2015 is only surpassed by the previous quarter, when 184 companies raised $1.1 billion. The average company saw an average of $6 million in funding, which is nearly equal to the previous quarter’s average. IVC Research Center is the online provider of data and analyses on Israel’s high-tech, venture capital and private equity industries.
April 27, 2015
Sapiens, TN Farmers Life Insurance Sign $8M Deal
April 27, 2015 | Sapiens has announced it will provide Tennessee Farmers Life Insurance Company with its flagship policy administration system. Sources in the FinTech industry tell NoCamels the deal is valued at $8 million. Headed by Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens is traded both on NASDAQ and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Founded in 1982 by Tsvi Misinai, Sapiens develops computer software solutions for the insurance industry.
April 27, 2015
FIMI To Buy 65% Of Polyram For $88.5M
April 27, 2015 | Israeli manufacturer Polyram has agreed to sell 65 percent of its shares to Israeli private equity firm FIMI for $88.5 million. Polyram, a leading manufacturer of engineering thermoplastic compounds mainly for the automotive industry, was founded in 1986 by Joshua Segev.
April 27, 2015
Report: Facebook To Acquire Israeli Startup Meerkat
April 27, 2015 | Facebook could enter the mobile live-streaming arena in just a few months by acquiring Israeli live video startup Meerkat, American internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, CEO of Weblogs, told CNBC. Meerkat’s competitor Periscope was recently acquired by Twitter. Formerly known as Yevvo, Meerkat was founded in 2012 by Ben Rubin, Roi Tirosh and Itai Danino.
April 27, 2015
Report: Gilead To Open Israeli Office
April 27, 2015 | American biopharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences will open a marketing office in Israel, according to a Globes report. Famous for its effective Hepatitis C treatment, Gilead is a $154 billion coropration operating in 30 countries. It was founded in 1987 in California.
April 26, 2015
ICL Signs 1.1M Ton Potash Deals In China
April 26, 2015 | Israel Chemicals has reportedly signed agreements to provide 1.1 million metric tons of potash to companies in China. The agreements will be valid for approximately three years. “The agreements we have signed with our customers in China for 2015 confirm ICL’s strategy to reinforce our position in the Chinese market by marketing and selling directly to potash manufacturers and distributors. We are grateful for the trust and confidence they have placed in ICL over the years – and especially during this period – and we will continue to work diligently to strengthen their trust,” said ICL Fertilizers CEO Nissim Adar. Israel Chemicals was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv.
April 26, 2015
Waze Will Report On Kidnappings In LA
April 26, 2015 | According to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the city will send alerts about hit-and-runs and kidnappings over navigation app Waze. Garcetti has signed a data-sharing partnership between the City of Los Angeles and Waze. Waze was founded in 2007 by Uri Levine, Amir Shinar and Ehud Shabtai and was acquired by Google in 2013.
April 22, 2015
Perrigo Rejects Mylan’s Buy-Out Offer
April 22, 2015 | The board of directors of Perrigo has rejected the offer made by Mylan NV to purchase its shares $29 billion. Perrigo has reportedly rejected the offer because it feels that it does not reflect the true value of Mylan’s company value and because it does not serve Perrigo’s shareholders’ interests. Simultaneously, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has offered to purchase Mylan for nearly $41 billion, though Mylan has opposed take-over attempts in the past. Perrigo is the only non-Israeli company listed on the TA-25.
April 22, 2015
Report: Comverse To Sell Billing Division To Amdocs
April 22, 2015 | Comverse is reportedly in the process of selling the billing division of its company to Amdocs for approx. $300-400 million, according to a “Globes” report. The announcement comes in the same week that Comverse signed a cooperation agreement with Indian company Tech Mahindra for the transfer of the former’s digital service employees to the latter company. Amdocs is headed by president and CEO Eli Gelman.
April 22, 2015
Windward Named Red Herring Top 100 Europe Company
April 22, 2015 | The Israeli maritime data and analytics company Windward was named a Red Herring Top 100 Europe company for 2015. This prestigious annual award recognizes innovative technologies making an impact across industries. Windward’s technology is in wide use by Security, Intelligence and Law Enforcement agencies worldwide, who are using insights from Windward’s data platform to identify suspicious ships before they reach their shores. Windward was founded in 2010 by Matan Peled and Ami Daniel.
April 21, 2015
BGU-CEA Sign Collaboration Agreement
April 21, 2015 | Ben Gurion University of the Negev and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have signed an agreement on reactor core physics studies. The collaboration will focus on the feasibility analysis of core degradation situations during severe accidents in nuclear reactors. The CEA is strongly involved in core physics R&D field using Zero Power Reactors (ZPR) for experimental qualification, and is launching a new project called ZEPHYR as a future modern ZPR for experimental physics. Ben-Gurion University and the Unit of Nuclear Engineering specifically, are highly interested in developing its expertise and research capabilities in core physics and to participate in studies related to ZEPHYR.
April 21, 2015
EyeYon Medical Raises $3.6M
April 21, 2015 | The Israeli medical startup EyeYon Medical announced that it raised $3.6 million. EyeYon received investments from Pontifax, TriVentures, a large Indian distributor, the Office of the Chief Scientist and other existing investors. EyeYon Medical develops solutions for corneal edema and was founded by Dr. Ofer Daphna, Dr. Arie Marcovich, and Nahum Ferera.
April 21, 2015
Moovit Releases 4.0 Version For Android
April 21, 2015 | The public transportation “navigation” application Moovit has released an updated version of its platform for Android. Some of the new features on Moovit 4.0 include a simplifed design and a search function that suggests the best way to get to where you need to go. In addition, the new version of Moovit allows users to search for bus and train lines to see where it will take them. One of the main improvements is that the app now works offline so that users can store planned trips and directions for access when they don’t have an Internet connection. Moovit was founded in 2011 by Yaron Evron, Roy Bick and Nir Erez.
