News Briefs

December 29, 2014 | The Israeli provider of integration, consulting and technology services, U-BTech Solutions acquired Agile-IT, a company that deals in cloud computing solutions for Microsoft. As a result of the acquisition, the two companies will merge under the company name U-BTech Solutions. Within the merged company, over 50 experts will be employed and the company will be headed by U-BTech CEO Tzachi Asif, the current CEO and founder of U-BTech. The other two founders Ronen Gabai and Elad Hayoun will also continue their roles at U-BTech, and the CEO Agile-IT, Eyal Melach, will also be integrated into the company’s management. U-BTech Solutions was founded in 2007 and since has been active in Israeli and international markets.

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December 29, 2014 | The Israeli public relations company Blonde 2.0 announced that it will establish a branch of its offices in the United States. The company will open an office in Boston, Massachusetts in January 2015 that will focus on providing public relations services to startups and entrepreneurs in the US. Blonde 2.0 was founded in 2006 by Ayelet Noff and Motti Peer as a PR agency to promote startups, financial funds and enterprise companies. Blonde 2.0 counts among its 70 clients firms and companies like Shaked Ventures, Viber, Mobli and StoreDot. Blonde 2.0’s current offices are located in Tel Aviv.

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December 25, 2014 | After Ron Gura resigned as head of the eBay Innovation Center, the position at the company’s research and development center in Israel has been filled. Matan Bar will take over for Gura at the eBay Innovation Center, which Gura left to become entrepreneur-in-residence at Aleph Ventures. Bar’s experience is in ecommerce, particularly in the development and management of ecommerce items. eBay has a research and development center in Israel located in the town of Netanya as well as on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.

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December 25, 2014 | The Teddy Sagi Group has acquired the Israeli company Adience for $20 million, according to a “Globes” report. Adience has developed a system to manage mobile user applications, based on deep learning technology. Adience was established a mere 18 months ago and currently employs 10 at its offices in Tel Aviv. The company was founded by veterans of the Israeli Defense Force special unit 8200, CPO Sasha Medvedovsky, CTO Eran Eidinger, and CEO Roee Nahir. Adience is thought to have raised $1.6 million since its founding, which gives shareholders 13 times the return on their initial investment. Teddy Sagi hopes to grow his portfolio of ecommerce companies, which is connected to his recent purchase of London’s leading marketplace Camden Market.

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December 25, 2014 | The CEO of Brainsway, an Israeli company developing treatments for serious brain disorders, Uzi Sofer will step down from his position. Sofer informed the company and its investors of his decision this morning (Thursday), with the company agreeing that he will end his term at Brainsway in April 2015 after 12 years serving as the head of the company he founded. Sofer will remain the director of the company. Brainsway also announced that it will cut ties with its public relations representatives in the United States, reaching the decision that it will begin its own marketing regime in the US. According to most estimates, the company seeks out an American CEO to replace Sofer that will help the company get on its feet in the US. Recently, the company received FDA approval for the treatment of depression using its Deep TMS System. Brainsway was founded in 2003 by Uzi Sofer, President Avner Hagai and Chairman David Zacut.

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December 25, 2014 | The Israeli navigation and real-time update application for public transportation, Moovit announced the closure of a $50 million funding round, according to a report by TheMarker. A number of international investment bodies participated in the round, though their names remain undisclosed, as well as existing investors Sequoia Ventures as well as the Israeli venture capital firms Gemini and BRM. According to most estimates, the company’s value when the funding round was completed stood at between $300-450 million, with Moovit raising $81.5 million since it was founded in 2011. The application has more than 12 million users in over 400 cities around the world, including more than 1 million Israeli users. Moovit was founded by Nir Erez, Roy Bick and Yaron Evron.

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December 25, 2014 | Check-Cap, a company developing pills that take a X-Ray scan of the intestines, has submitted a draft prospectus to raise $15 million on NASDAQ. The company’s technology seeks to replace existing and more invasive methods for conducting colonoscopies. The company has not released its company value for the offering, but it is expected to be approximately $100 million, before money. This would make Check-Cap the first Israeli biomedical company to issue a NASDAQ offering in 2015. The company recently received a $12 million investment led by the Chinese company Fosun Pharma, which currently owns 13.9 percent of the company. Other investors include GE Healthcare, Pontifax, Docor, and Biomedix Incubator, among others. Check-Cap was founded by CEO Dr. Yoav Kimchy.

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December 24, 2014 | The world’s first molecular scanner the size of a USB device, SCiO by company Consumer Physics, is a finalist in the International CES ‘Last Gadget Standing’ competition. SCiO is a pocket-sized molecular scanner that can tell you the chemical composition of nearly any kind of object it scans. The Last Gadget Standing competition looks for technologies that are “more than just a flash in the pan,” and the competition is open to anyone who exhibits at the International CES convention. International CES is an annual technology and innovation convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada, owned by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). 

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December 24, 2014 | The Food & Drug Administration in the United States has approved Teva Pharmaceutical Company‘s GRANIX injection solution for sale and distribution in the US. GRANIX’s system works to hasten the flow of white blood cells and to strengthen the immune system, especially during chemotherapeutic treatments. GRANIX has been present on the American market since November 2013, but is currently only available for distribution at hospitals and by doctors. Now Teva plans to release a new version of the GRANIX injection device that can be self-dosed and injected by patients and medical service providers. Teva is Israel’s largest pharmaceutical company, founded in 1901 and managed by CEO and president Erez Vigodman.

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December 24, 2014 | The UK Israel Tech Hub, a body that drives economic growth between the two countries as it pertains to innovation, launched the TeXchange 2015 initiative for Israeli fintech startups. The UK Israel Tech Hub hopes to provide Israeli startups in the financial technology (fintech) sector a chance to showcase their work in Europe and break through to global markets on the continent. As part of the initiative, 15 Israeli startups will be selected by a judging panel to travel to the United Kingdom for business meetings, networking events and presentations to some of the world’s biggest companies and brands, as well as governmental leaders. The deadline for applicants is January 11, 2015, with the selected delegation traveling to London in February.

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December 24, 2014 | The Israeli pharmaceutical company Mapi Pharma, developing delayed release drugs, is again considering an initial public offering in the United States. The company has recently released a delayed release version of Teva Pharmaceutical company’s drug Copaxone, which recently began human trials. Mapi attempted an IPO on NASDAQ in the second half of 2014, when it sought to raise $40 million at a company value of $200-230 million. However, when the company saw that they were unable to raise such an amount, it lowered its expectations but still was forced to cancel the offering. Now Mapi reportedly hopes to raise $10-30 million in the first quarter of 2015, either through public or private placement. Besides Teva, Mapi has signed three more agreements with other companies for the development of delayed release drugs. Mapi Pharma is headed by CEO Ehud Marom.

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December 24, 2014 | The defense electronics company Elbit Systems announced that its US subsidiary has been awarded a subcontract from the Brazilian Navy. The contract will allow for an upgrade of four Grumman C-1A aircraft, with the contract valued at $106 million. Elbit will complete the contract over a five-year period, with the aircraft set to contain a number of new features.”We are pleased to upgrade the Brazilian Navy’s aircraft. We built a solid reputation of meeting commitments to our customers and with the successful execution of this overhaul and modernization program we will enhance the capabilities of the Brazilian Navy,” Elbit of America CEO and President Raanan Horowitz said in a statement. Elbit Systems was founded in 1996 and is headed by CEO and President Bezhalel Machlis in Israel.

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December 24, 2014 | The family history and genealogy discovery platform MyHeritage announced that it will add more than 120 million Danish records to its database, making the records available for search on the company’s website. My Heritage reached an agreement with the Danish National Archives to index census and parish records from 1646-1930. Access to the records will provide MyHeritage users with more information regarding their family history, making the documents digitally available to the wider public. The Danish national censuses collected by MyHeritage include approximately 9 million images and 131 million records, and the Church records will provide additional images and names. MyHeritage is currently the only online heritage search service that provides Danish, Norwegian and Finnish language settings, amassing the largest Nordic user base compared to similar services on the market.

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December 23, 2014 | Energix Renewable Energies announced that it will be responsible for constructing Israel’s largest solar energy project. The project will be constructed at Neot Hovav in the southern Negev region of Israel and the company has already received a permanent licence for the production of electricity. The company estimates that the power production will have the capacity to serve up to 40,000 homes in Israel, yielding an annual profit of between $10.7-11.4 million over a period of twenty years. The plant, which can generate up to 37.5 megawatts of electricity, is constructed on a former evaporation pond for industrial waste and will house 400,000 photo-voltaic panels. In addition, Energix has plans to set up an educational tourism center at the site that will explain the subject of renewable energy. Energix was founded in 2009 and is part of the Alony Hetz Property and Investments group.

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December 23, 2014 | Frutarom, one of the world’s ten largest companies in the field of flavors and specialty ingredients, announced that it will acquire Vitiva of Slovenia for approximately $9.9 million. Frutarom will pay in cash for the company shares over the coming weeks. Vitiva specializes in the research and development, production, marketing and sales of specialty natural extracts from plants with antioxidant activity and certain health benefits. The company counts among its customers some of the world’s top food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics manufactures. Frutarom is a world leader in the flavors and specialty ingredients sector, and is publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.

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