News Briefs

January 25, 2015 | The Israeli biopharmaceutical company Kite Pharma announced that it has expanded on its agreement with Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center that will help it research and develop its CAR T technology. CAR T is a cellular therapy that is used as part of Kite Pharma’s cancer immunotherapy treatments. As part of the agreement, Kite Pharma will partner with Prof. Zelig Eshhar, an expert in CAR T research and the Chair of Immunology Research at Sourasky. Kite Pharma was founded in 2009 and is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products, with a primary focus on eACT™ designed to restore the immune system’s ability to recognize and eradicate tumors.

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January 22, 2015 | A leading cloud data encryption company Vaultive announced that it raised $8 million in a recent financing round. The round was led .406 Ventures, New Science Ventures and Harmony Partners. According to the company, the funds will be used to fuel its growth and advance its cloud data encryption platform. In addition, Vaultive announced new additions to its executive team including naming Jonas Hellgren as President and CEO and David Kahan as CFO and General Counsel. Vaultive was founded in 2009 by Maayan Tal and Ben Matzkel and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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January 22, 2015 | The creators of Matific, the creators of the interactive math teaching platforms, Slate Science announced that it raised $12 million in Series A funding. The round was led by “existing angel investors” according to CEO Guy Vardi, as well as existing investors. Matific is a platform that provides fun games for children K-6 to help them learn mathematics. Matific is free for use at home and in the classroom, and it is available on browsers as well as on Android and iOS systems. According to company data, approximately 15,000 teachers use the platform, and about 10,000 children in the US. According to CEO, the company plans to use the funds to expand internationally. Slate Science was founded by Shmulik London, Shimon Shocken, Raz Kupferman, Guy Vardi and Leon Kamenev.

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January 22, 2015 | According to a “Calcalist” report, Amdocs will acquire the Israeli company PONTIS for $150 million. Amdocs, a leading software company with research and development centers in Israel, and PONTIS have cooperated together in the past and Amdocs is even an investor in the company. PONTIS is a big data analytics and marketing platform that carries out continuous contextual engagement. PONTIS was founded in 2003 and employs 200 employees at its offices in Raanana.

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January 22, 2015 | According to a “Calcalist” report, Amazon is in talks to acquire the Israeli chip-making company Annapurna Labs for $350-370 million. Calcalist reports that the companies are in the final stages of negotiations and that, as part of the deal, Amazon will open up an Israeli research and development center in the country. If the deal goes through, this will be Amazon’s first acquisition of an Israeli company, but it wont be Annapurna founder Avigdor Willenz’s first big pay day; in 2001 he sold his chip-making company Galileo to Marvell for $1.2 billion. Annapurna itself was founded in 2011 Avigdor Willenz and has seen several tens of millions in investments from companies like the British chip-maker ARM and the venture capital firm Walden International.

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January 22, 2015 | Check-Cap, the Israeli medical device company that has invented non-invasive imaging tests for colon cancer, announced a revision of its original IPO prospectus. The company has reportedly revised their prospectus with the US Securities & Exchange Commission to state the company hopes to raise between $12-$14.4 million at a share price ranging between $10-12 per share. The new prospectus would give Check-Cap a company valuation of $83-99 million after money. After the company goes public, it will be traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CHEK. Check-Cap was founded in 2005 by CTO Dr. Yoav Kimchy.

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January 22, 2015 | Harman, a world leader in audio and visual technologies, announced that it will acquire the Israel-based company Red Bend software for $170 million. Harman hopes to accelerate Red Bend’s growth in the automotive space and it will position Red Bend as the de facto standard for OTA software for mobile devices and for automotive applications. Red Bend is a leading provider of software management tools for connected devices, as well as OTA software and firmware upgrading services. Harman will pay approximately $99 million in stock and $71 million in cash as part of the transaction, and Red Bend will operate as an independent unit of Harman in Israel. Red Bend was founded in 1999 by CTO Sharon Peleg.

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January 22, 2015 | Mobileye‘s shares on the New York Stock Exchange have reportedly lost up to 37 percent of the their value. “Globes” reports that this amounts to a $4.8 billion loss in the value of the company’s market cap, now valuing the market cap at $8 billion. At its peak following the company’s IPO this summer, Mobileye’s share price reached $60.28 last October, but has since declined $37.74 per share, and at a time when US capital markets are performing strongly. According to “Globes” assessment, this could mean that Mobileye will offer up a second offering, due to the interests of major investors like Goldman Sachs that owns a  12.3 percent stake in the company. Mobileye develops collision prevention technology and was founded in 1999 by Hebrew University Professor Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram.

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January 22, 2015 | The Australian medical cannabis company PhytoTech Medical has become the first medical marijuana company on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The company, which as a research center in Israel and is partnered with Hebrew University’s Yissum technology transfer company, raised AUS$5.9 million dollars (approx. US$4.7 million) at a share price of $0.20 per share. PhytoTech’s core focus in the growing medical cannabis market is on the research, development and commercialization of cannabis products for the treatment of various medical conditions. PhytoTech has an exclusive research and licensing agreement with Yissum.

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January 22, 2015 | The Global Head of MasterCard Start Path, Stephanie Wyper, will arrive in Israel in February to meet with local startups developing FinTech solutions. The credit card giant is looking for young startups with seed funding and that are pre-Series A funding that are interested in pitching their idea as part of the MasterCard Start Path. The selected startups will we awarded a paid trip to Dublin, Ireland to participate in a final interview for the MasterCard Start Path Europe program. The Start Path Europe program will begin in April 2015 and will provide selected participants with a 12-month hybrid onsite and virtual experience that includes mentorship from MasterCard professionals as well as the ability to leverage existing MasterCard solutions.

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January 21, 2015 | According to the IVC Research Center and KPMG Somekh Chaikin, Israeli high-tech capital reached new heights in 2014, raising an unprecedented $3.4 billion. This amount, raised by 688 companies, is up 46 percent from the $2.3 billion raised by 659 companies in 2013. Particularly, the fourth financial quarter of 2014 was outstanding, with companies raising $1.1 billion, the most raised by Israeli companies since 1999. In Q4/2014, 110 VC-backed deals attracted more capital than in any previous quarter in the last six years – $845 million or 76 percent of total capital invested. IVC Research is a leading provider of online data and analysis on Israeli high-tech, venture capital and private equity industries.

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January 21, 2015 | The popular coffee chain Starbucks announced that it will offer Duracell Powermat‘s wireless charging technology in ten of its central London stores. Technology invented by the Israeli company Powermat in 2009, Starbucks customers can ask for a ring at the counter that will help connect their phone to one of the wireless charging spots. The introduction of the technology into London franchises follows positive reviews for the technology in San Francisco branches of the beverage provider, a service that was launched last year in 200 different branches. Powermat, now popularly known as Duracell Powermat for the company’s cooperation with the international battery producer, was founded in 2006 by Ran Poliakin.

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January 21. 2015 | The investment arm of Bank Leumi in Israel, Leumi Partners, signed an exclusive investment banking collaboration deal with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company. Stifel, Nicolaus & Company is one of the leading mid-market investment banks in North America and will work together with Leumi Partners to provide investment banking solutions for Israeli companies. Leumi Partners sees a growing demand by middle-market companies in Israel to expand internationally and seek out capital-raising alternatives, which is why they have turned to Stifel for assistance in providing such a service. “These strengths are expected to not only enhance Leumi Partners’ targeted client offerings,” added Prof. Danny Tsiddon, Deputy CEO of Leumi and Chairman of LP, “but will also contribute in a substantial way to Leumi’s newly established tech banking platform, LeumiTech.” Leumi Partners is headed by CEO Yaron Bloch.

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January 21, 2015 | Before its anticipated NASDAQ IPO, the Israeli medical device company Check-Cap announced changes to its board of directors. The company, which has developed a non-invasive X-Ray pill for intestinal screening, hopes to raise $15 million in its IPO that was announced last week. The new members of the board include Yuval Yanai, the former CTO at Given Imaging, a Check-Cap competitor that was sold to the Irish company Covidien for almost $1 billion, and Steven J. Hanley, a former president at Covidien and CEO of MediBeacon. Check-Cap was founded in 2005 by Dr. Yoav Kimchy.

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January 21, 2015 | The prestigious English University of Cambridge has set up a new multi-million pound investment fund for Israeli scientists. The money for the fund will be provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation with the hope of allowing Israeli scientists to pursue their post doctorate degree at the University. According to philanthropist Len Blavatnik: “I am very pleased to strengthen the Foundation’s existing links to Cambridge with this important initiative, which will serve the mutual interests of the university, the Israeli scientific community and those selected to be Blavatnik Fellows.” Three Israeli scientists are already benefiting from the grants, with each fellow receiving an annual stipend of £30,000, with the fellowships tenable for two years.

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