News Briefs

December 4, 2014 | According to the Telecommunications branch of the United Nations, the ITU, in an annual report entitled, “Measuring Information Societies,” Israel dropped two places from its rating last year. Within the report, Israel dropped two places in the ‘innovative technology index’ from 27th place to 29th place. In the averaged index score, Israel actually progressed, but not enough, with Spain and Bahrain surpassing the country in the past year.

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December 4, 2014 | The Israeli smart parking startup Anagog announced that it will go into Beta testing and that it raised $1 million in new funds. Anagog, similar to the popular Israeli navigation application Waze, uses crowdsourced data to help users find a parking space. Using historical and real-time data on parking spots and locations, users can view exactly which parking spots are open when. However, Anagog is not creating a platform for consumers, but for business partners that want to integrate and use the service. The funding was secured from Yos Shiran (Caesarstone CEO), Dan Vilensky and Avi Shechter (former VP of AOL Israel).

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December 4, 2014 | Conduit, the Israeli Internet company infamous for its website-based toolbars, will close down its U division responsible for the development of an Internet browser similar to Google’s ‘Chrome.’ Conduit will shut down the division after two years, and the employees in the division will either be redistributed in the company, or let go. Reportedly, the company will shift its focus to its Como division, developing a platform for the swift and easy creation of mobile applications. Just last October, Conduit closed its Wibiya division that developed website-based toolbars, which was acquired in 2011 $45 million. Conduit was founded 2005 by Ronen Shilo, Dror Erez and Gabi Bilcyzk.

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December 4, 2014 | Bank HaPoalim, one of Israel’s largest banks, announced the winner of its BankApp competition for startups innovating banking applications. BzBuzz, an application providing real-time data on the number of shoppers and estimated waiting times at stores using credit information, was selected the winner of the competition. Led by Shachar Albeg, BzBuzz received NIS 100,000 ($25,000) and will eligible for an investment of up to NIS 1 million (approx. $250,000) from Bank HaPoalim, based on its fit to the bank’s FinTech program. BzBuzz was selected out of nearly 1,000 startups that participated in the competition, with the winner selected from a group of 10 startups that made it to the final round.

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December 4, 2014 | Two Israeli startups, Pixoneye and Pzartech, were two of the six finalists at the iiAwards world startup competition in Paris, France. As part of the final stage of the competition, organized by the Paris Region Lab and the City of Paris, Ofri Ben Porat of Pixoneye and Jeremie Brabet-Adonajlo of 3D printing startup Pzartech, will make their final pitch to the judges. As super finalists in the competition, they will be able to join and entrepreneurship incubator program in Paris and compete for a €20,000 prize. Pixoneye is an advertising tool, still under development, that matches customers’ with products that suit them according to images on social media. Pzartech is a 3D printing startup hoping to innovate the growing technological sector.

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December 3, 2014 | A list of the contenders for the 7VPD pitch competition held by ProSiebenSat.1 Group was revealed to NoCamels exclusively by sources close to the publication. The startups that will compete for €7 million in prizes include: EatWith, Popeek, Umoove, TinyTap, MediSafe, Minute, and Elephone. The first place winner will be awarded with €4 million towards television and digital advertisements on ProSieben’s networks, the second with €3 million and the third prize winner with €1 million. This is the first time that the 7VPD pitch event will be held outside of London, seeking out suitable business-to-customer startups for the company to help brand and enter the European market.

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December 3, 2014 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries launched a generic equivalent of its Exforge HCT tablets in the United States, a treatment for high blood pressure. Teva was the first company to file for the generic version, and the product will be eligible for 180 days of marketing exclusivity. Exforge HCT is marketed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals and saw annual sales of $158 million in the US. Teva was founded in 1901 by Eli Hurvitz and is headquartered in the US.

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December 3, 2014 | Ika Chocolate, a chocolate confectionery in Tel Aviv, won first prize at the International Chocolate Awards in London for a za’atar flavored truffle. The company shared a rare first prize medal with wild blueberry chocolate from Denmark. The awards ceremony has been held for three years now, “set up to recognize excellence in fine quality chocolate from around the world,” according to the awards’ website.

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December 3, 2014 | The Israeli application CallApp announced that it raised $4 million from Giza Ventures and Susquehanna Growth Equity. In addition to Giza Ventures, angel investors also participated in the round, including Sa’ar Wilf and Moshe Lichtman. As part of the funding round, a group of investors purchased part of the company, formerly owned by company founder Oded Wallovitch. CallApp was founded in 2011 in an attempt to connect social media with our phone contacts, helping provide for universal caller ID.

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December 3, 2014 | Flash storage company Kaminario announced that it raised $53 million in a recent funding round, bringing total investment in the company to $128 million. Current investors Sequoia Capital, Pitango, Globespan, Tenaya and Mitsui participated in the round, along with new investors Silicon Valley Bank, Lazarus Hedge Fund, and an unnamed public company. Kaminario is all-flash enterprise storage company that was founded by CEO Dani Golan in 2008. Today, the company is based out of Newton, Massachusetts.

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December 3, 2014 | The holder and distributor of sophisticated agro-breeding solutions software, BreedIT, announced that its joint venture, KanaboSeed submitted applications to register two new cannabis strains. The new strains will be registered with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Plant Breeders’ Rights council. These are the first cannabis varieties to be developed of KanaboSeed since the venture was founded in August of this year. The strains were specially cultivated to treat particular medical conditions by conditioning the ratios of CBD to TCH in the plants. The review process will take up to 90 days to allow for public discourse and harvest seasons. BreedIT is headed by Chairman Itzchak Shrem and CEO Yoel Yogev.

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December 3, 2014 | The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Israel’s Center for R&D, MATIMOP, will cooperate to advance stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The agreement, which will be signed on December 5th, lays out the foundation for a potential Californian-Israeli stem cell research programs, with the goal of making it easier for researchers to obtain funding. At the signing of the agreement in San Francisco, MATIMOP will be represented Michel Hivert. MATIMOP is the executive agency of the Office of the Chief Scientist and is the national agency for research and development in Israel.

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December 3, 2014 | Ness Software Engineering plans to increase its staff at it’s India office by nearly 1,000 employees, according to reports. “We see product and platform engineering as a significant growth opportunity. We are growing very significantly in India. India is a significant part of our delivery strategy,” said Paul Lombardo, CEO of Ness Software Engineering Services. Ness Technologies is a provider of IT-services, based in Israel, but with offices in a number of countries around the world.

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December 2, 2014 | The Israeli dating app HashSnap won first prize at the Google Campus startup competition. The application won the annual YourStartApp award at the end of Google Campus’ Entrepreneurship Week in Tel Aviv last week. The HashSnap app works by notifying users of singles within your radius, providing information about their interests and automatically adding you to their circle of friends. According to CEO Oded Vakrat, “The application defines a daily topic every day and identifies people uploading photos in real time with respect to the same subject. That way you can learn about them in everyday life and not just from a vague profile on Facebook. It builds their personality in a cumulative manner.”

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December 2, 2014 | Tel Aviv was chosen as one of UNESCO‘s Creative Cities in the field of Media Arts. The White City previously received recognition from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a World Heritage Site for the over 4000 historic, white Bauhaus buildings throughout the city. The Creative Cities Network was created by UNESCO to encourage participation between international cities in order to promote local creative industries, harness entrepreneurship and creativity that will strengthen the local economy and social development.

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