February 2, 2015 | The investment arm of Bank HaPoalim will establish a venture capital presence in China, according to a “Calcalist” report. Together with the Chinese investment company CITIC, the fund will total $150 million in private funds for investments in high-tech companies and Israeli industry. According to assessments made by Calcalist, the fund is currently raising money, with Bank HaPoalim committing up to $20 million and CITIC $10 million of the fund’s total. It is expected that Asia Direct will join the effort. The fund will be headquartered in China, with offices in Israel, and will be headed by Amir Galor.
News Briefs
February 02, 2015
Bank HaPoalim And CITIC Establish VC Fund
February 02, 2015
Shengjing Invests $50M In Israeli VCs, Announces Competition
February 2, 2015 | The Chinese management consulting company Shengjing will invest up to $50 million in Israeli venture capital firms, according to a “Calcalist” report. In addition, together with Jerusalem Venture Partners and the Chinese SME Accelerator, Shenjing woll launch a Global Innovation Award, a global startup competition with a top prize of $1 million. The competition will be held simultaneously in China, Israel, the United States, Europe and Latin America, with the finals taking place in Beijing in August of this year. The Israeli section of the competition will be managed by JVP together with its partners.
February 02, 2015
Corephotonics Raises $17.8M In New Funding
February 2, 2015 | The Israeli startup Corephotonics has raised $17.8 million in funding, according to a report in “TheMarker.” The company, whose technology attempts to improve existing photography technologies within smartphones, was able to raised the funds from Amiti Ventures of Chicago. Existing investors also participated, including Magma Venture Partners, the initial investor in Corephotonics, Li Ka Shing’s Horizon Ventures and the European group BetaAngels. SanDisk, the memory card manufacturer and two strategic Chinese investors, one involved in consumer electronics and the other a content giant. The current funding round brings total investment in the company to $28.3 million since it was founded in 2012.
February 02, 2015
OPKO To Begin Clinical Trials On Hemophilia Treatment
February 2, 2015 | OPKO Health announced that it will submit a request to begin clinical trials on a drug for the treatment of hemophilia. If the drug is approved, it will directly enter into Phase II clinical trials. It is similar technologically to another of the company’s drug platforms and is also meant to treat hemophilia, a genetic disease in which blood fails to clot. The latest OPKO drug is meant to reduce the number of injections that hemophiliacs must receive. OPKO is headquartered in Florida, but operates in Israel, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain.
February 02, 2015
Samsung Invests In 8 Israeli Startups In 2014
February 2, 2015 | The South Korean technological giant Samsung reportedly invested in eight Israeli startups in the year 2014 alone. The company has invested in companies such as StoreDot, RePlay, EarlySense and MV4D, among others. According to the company’s President and Chief Strategic Officer Young Sohn, Israel is only second to Silicon Valley in Samsung investments for 2014. “We want to take a leading role in what we call ‘the smart life era.’ We have a close partnership with the Israeli start-up community, and Israel, as one of the global centers of entrepreneurship and innovation, certainly interests us, as a base for future technologies that can influence the lives of millions,” Sohn stated.
February 02, 2015
InsuLine And Johnson & Johnson Sign MOU
February 2, 2015 | According to a “Globes” report, the Israeli company InsuLine has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American healthcare company Johnson & Johnson. According to the MOU, the two companies will cooperate to obtain regulatory approval for InsuLine’s InsuPad, which reduces injected insulin intake speeds in diabetic patients by up to 50 percent. Once and if regulatory approval is obtained, Johnson & Johnson will become the sole distributor for the InsuPad in a number of international locations, namely in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. InsuLine is headed by CEO Michael Netz.
February 02, 2015
State Of Mind Ventures Raises $50M Fund
February 2, 2015 | A new investment fund, State of Mind Ventures is attempting to raise a $50 million fund. Founded by Yuval Baharav and Pinhas Buchris, State of Mind Ventures plans to invest $1-2 million in seed funding in big data, aerospace, communications, cyber, cloud data, and computer vision sectors, according to “Globes.” The fund has already invested up to $4 million in three Israeli companies Cabara, Twiggle and SpacePharma. Together with Baharav and Buchris, Shlomo Kalish and Vaizra Investments, among others, invested in the fund. Gigi Levy-Weiss, a notable angel investor, will reportedly act as a consultant and investment committee member for the fund.
February 02, 2015
ICL Opens European Headquarters In Amsterdam
February 2, 2015 | The Israeli multinational corporation Israel Chemicals announced that its European headquarters and Shared Services Center will be located in Amsterdam. The company’s headquarters will be located in the Prinsenhof building near Koningin Wilhelminaplein Square and will also serve as the hub of the company’s Global Procurement organization. The space was inaugurated by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Israel Chemicals President and CEO Stefan Borgas and parent company Israel Corporation. According to the company, the new offices will play a key role in connecting with employees and increasing their job satisfaction. Israel Chemicals was founded in 1968 as a government-owned company, which was privatized in 1995.
February 01, 2015
M&A Company BCMS Opens Office In Israel
February 1, 2015 | The international merger and acquisitions company BCMS announced that it will begin operations in Israel. The company has plans to expose small to medium-sized companies in Israel to foreign investors. In Israel, the company will be represented by Doron Ephrati and Hilit Ben-Zvi, the founders and partners of the business consultant firm Head-On Business and Marketing Navigation. Since BCMS was founded some 25 years ago in Britain, it has been involved in the merger of 500 companies worldwide. The Israeli representatives for the company believe that 10-15 small to mid-sized companies in Israel are set to enter into merger and acquisition prospects within the coming year.
February 01, 2015
13 Israeli Companies Present At Int’l Conference
February 1, 2015 | The global energy company Schneider Electric recently hosted a conference in which 13 Israeli energy startups presented their technologies to international companies. French power companies EDF, GDF, the Orange global cellular company, a French venture capital firm Aster Capital, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Renault Innovation Silicon Valley, and other participated in the conference, with an eye geared towards Israeli startups innovating the sector. Some of the Israeli energy companies to present include Enstorage, a company that has succeed at producing electricity from renewable sources, Emefcy, a company that turns waste into energy, PowerTags, ThetaRay, and Silentium, a company that has created ‘silencing’ technology.
February 01, 2015
StartupEast And NUS Announce Program For Israeli Startups
February 1, 2015 | StartupEast, an Israel-Asian accelerator, and the National University of Singapore (NUS), will team up to create a new program for Israeli startups. The program will be divided between Israel and Asia, allowing Israeli entrepreneurs the chance to meet clients, partners and investors from Singapore and to receive mentoring and launch product pilots. The program will be hosted at Block71, NUS’s open-space hub in the center of Singapore. The companies that are able to succeed in Asia will be able to take advantage of StartupEast’s collaboration with the Synergy China Fund, giving them a foot-in in China. StartupEast aims to connect Israeli and Asian startups and investors through joint-sided acceleration programs, as well as bootcamps and training sessions.
February 01, 2015
MyECheck Buys Shares In SeerGate For $3M
February 1, 2015 | The electronic payments company MyECheck reports that it will pay $3 million to buy shares in Israeli company SeerGate. SeerGate specializes in electronic payment solutions for banks, a service that will be integrated into MyECheck’s electronic payment systems. According to reports, the deal between the companies is expected to close within six weeks. SeerGate was founded in 2006 by Alicia Roisman Ismach and Elad Aharoni.
February 01, 2015
Enlivex Receives Orphan Drug Status For ApoCell In Europe
February 1, 2015 | Enlivex Therapeutics announced that the European Medicines Agency granted orphan drug status to ApoCell. The drug, which received orphan drug status from the US Food & Drug Administration in 2013, is Enlivex’s lead drug candidate for prevent of Graft-versus-host Disease (GVHD). “The EMA’s orphan drug designation of ApoCell is a significant step forward in our clinical program. GvHD is a serious complication that affects 30% – 70% of bone marrow transplant patients and a substantial contributor to transplant-related morbidity and mortality,” said Alon Moran, CEO of Enlivex. Now the company plans to initiate Phase IIb/ III clinical trials on ApoCell in 2015. A Hadasit Bio-Holdings portfolio company, Enlivex develops immunotherapy treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions by inducing immune tolerance.
February 01, 2015
PhytoTech Medical Appoints New Israel CEO
February 1, 2015 | The Australian-owned medical cannabis company PhytoTech Medical Limited has appointed Dr. Daphna Heffetz as CEO of the subsidiary company in Israel. As CEO of the company, Dr. Heffetz hopes to lead the development and commericalization of high potential cannabis-based therapeutic products, together with the technological transfer company of the Hebrew University, Yissum. PhytoTech Medical was the first medical cannabis company to list on Australia’s ASX market, and has research facilities in Israel.
February 01, 2015
Vicomi Raises $900K In Initial Funding
February 1, 2015 | The Israeli startup Vicomi announced the completion of its first round of funding, reaching $900,000. The company, which develops platforms allowing users to rate content according to their feelings about it, received investments from Axel Springer, the German publishing giant that already uses Vicomi’s services on a number of their websites. In addition, Vicomi received funding from private Israeli and German investors and KEYRUS, a world leader in BI and data intelligence. Founded by Shai Brumer and Eli Ken-Dror, Vicomi has made it its goal to increase engagement and suggest content and advertisements to users according to their emotional preferences. The company currently serves about 12,000 companies all over the world and is exposed to 40 million global web users.
