November 3, 2014 | The WeWork workspace, community and office services company will open three work locations in Israel, two in Tel Aviv and one in Herzliya. WeWork provides a workspace, community and services to small businesses, the self-employed, entrepreneurs and startups, designed in a unique fashion. WeWork will open offices in the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv, Dubnov Street in Tel Aviv and Aryeh Shenkar Street in Herzliya Pituach. WeWork Israel will be headed by CEO Benji Singer. The American company WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, and currently has 30 different office spaces located in seven major cities in the United States.
News Briefs
November 03, 2014
WeWork Launches Unique Office Spaces In Tel Aviv, Herzliya Israel
November 02, 2014
One Year Later, AFEX Closes Tel Aviv Offices
November 2, 2014 | The California-based non-bank provider of global payments and risk management solutions AFEX will close its Tel Aviv office, just a year after setting up operations in the White City. AFEX began operations in Israeli in August 2013, hoping to break into the bustling technology market in the country. Though it remains unclear why AFEX closed their office in Tel Aviv, the regulated cross-border transaction service maintains offices throughout North America, in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and more.
November 02, 2014
Dept. Of Defense And MIT Partner Up To Give Israeli Startup $100K
November 2, 2014 | According to a “Times of Israel” report, the United States Department of Defense will pay an Israeli startup $100,000 for the best homeland security idea or product. At the Combating Terrorism Technology Conference to be held in Tel Aviv, Israel startup companies will present their technology with hopes to win the $100,000 prize. The contest is sponsored by the Department of Defense along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Enterprise Forum in Israel, an organization of MIT graduates.
November 02, 2014
Ben Gurion University And Soreq Win Major Photonics Tender
November 2, 2014 | Ben Gurion University of the Negev and Soreq Nuclear Research Center have won a tender to create a National Photonics and Electro-Optics Research Center with an overall budget of $46 million. The tender was offered up by The Research and Development of Armaments and Technology Infrastructure Administration (MAFAT) in the Israeli Ministry of Defense on behalf of the Telem Forum. BGU’s team will be led by Prof. Gabby Sarusi.
November 02, 2014
Teva Reports Spike In Q3/2014 Profits
November 2, 2014 | The Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceutical released its third quarter results, reporting a non-GAAP profit of $1.1 billion. The profit is six percent higher than the corresponding quarter of last year. Based on GAAP, Teva made a net profit of $876 million ($1.02 per share), compared to $711 million ($0.84 per share) in the third quarter of 2013. “The effort we have put forth thus far in 2014 towards solidifying our foundation to drive organic growth is reflected in our strong third quarter results,” said Teva CEO Erez Vigodman. Teva was founded in 1901 and ranks among the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world.
October 30, 2014
Voiceitt Voted Audience Favorite At WSJD Startup Showcase
October 30, 2014 | Voiceitt, the creator of the Talkitt platform for those with speech impediments, was voted the audience favorite at the Wall Street Journal Digital live startup showcase. Talkitt is a first of its kind platform allowing the speech impaired to speak freely using the voice translation application on their mobile devices. The startup was founded by CEO Danny Weissberg and CTO Stas Tiomkin. Voiceitt recently has recently raised nearly $550,000 from private investors.
October 30, 2014
Mishor 3D Chosen By Ford Motors To Install Augmented Reality Navigation
October 30, 2014 | The Israeli producer of augmented reality navigation systems, Mishor 3D, has been chosen by Ford Motors to put the system in future car models. According to reports, Ford will pay Mishor 3D an undisclosed sum to make the navigation system suitable for Ford vehicles, for both high-end and mid-range models. Mishor 3D’s system uses information like geographic location and accelerometer sensors to determine where on the windshield to position the navigation graphics, using lines, arrows and other symbols to guide the driver on their route. Since its founding in 2011 by veterans of the Israeli military, Mishor 3D has secured over $3 million in funding from Horizons Ventures and Blumberg Capital.
October 30, 2014
ConferPlace Acquired By Meda Group For Undisclosed Amount
October 30, 2014 | The virtual conference platform developer ConferPlace was acquired by Meda Group for an undisclosed amount. ConferPlace’s platform allows users to take part in conferences and meetings from afar, using online tools. ConferPlace provides access to work tools from the comfort of home, but also is a networking platform through which users can hold private meetings and notify their contacts of the industry’s latest developments. ConferPlace was founded a year and a half ago by Hila Manor, Ronen Rosenblatt, and Oren Almog and is a graduate of Microsoft’s accelerator program. Meda Group plans to use the platform to expand the company’s activities on an international scale.
October 30, 2014
Valooto Raises $1.5 Million In Seed Funding
October 30, 2014 | The SaaS collaborative engagement platform developer Valooto closed a $1.5 million seed round from Jerusalem Venture Partners and Media Labs. The company was founded in October 2013 by Eyal Elbahary and CTO Alon Lubin. Valooto’s platform converts sales proposals into online, interactive proposals that can be shared, collaborated on, and approved by customers in real time. According to the company, this improves sales velocity, increasing sales forecast accuracy and enhancing the consumer experience.
October 30, 2014
Israel And Michigan Create Joint Research And Development Program
October 30, 2014 | The State of Michigan and Israel have created a joint research and development program for local pro-profit companies in order to enhance their economic partnership. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Israeli Ministry of the Economy announced that the cooperation will focus on automotive, cyber security and water technology projects. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will attempt to boost trade, investment and research opportunities and projects accepted in the program will receive funding from existing sources in Michigan and Israel.
October 30, 2014
Kamada Receives Orphan Drug Status For Glassia Treatment
October 30, 2014 | Kamada has been awarded orphan drug status from the US Food & Drug Administration for Glassia, a drug to treat Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). When a company receives orphan drug status they are able to receive grant money, tax credits and seven years of marketing exclusivity, with the possibility for an extended regulatory process. Preliminary human and animals studies show that Glassia may be able to treat and reduce the severity of of GVHD, one of the key complications that occurs in stem cell transplantation. Kamida is a biopharmaceutical company based in Israel co-founded by CEO David Tsur.
October 30, 2014
Evogene Opens Dedicated R&D Facilities In Rehovot
October 30, 2014 | Evogene, a company engaged in improving crop quality and the economics of food, opened dedicated R&D facilities within its Rehovot facilities. The dedicated facilities will support the company’s fungus, insect and weed control product programs. Evogene is a company that views crop protection as an important factor in improving growth and the expansions of communities, developing seeds with special traits and other solutions for agricultural challenges. Evogene was founded in 2012 by Dr. Hagai Karchi and Dr. Rafi Meissner.
October 30, 2014
Freightos Raises $7.6M In Recent Financing Round
October 30, 2014 | The automated freight loading company Freightos raised $7.6 million in a recent financing round. Investors that participated in the round include Annox Capital, Aleph, ICV and OurCrowd. According to the company, the new funds will be used move forward the company’s vision to bring international freight online with automated pricing and booking. Freightos has already automated the routing and pricing of freight over ocean, air and land, providing freight quotes instantly even more complex routes. Freightos is headed by CEO Zvi Schreiber and COO Victor Ofstein.
October 30, 2014
Perion To Fire Dozens Of Employees As Part Of Company Restructuring
October 30, 2014 | The Israeli company Perion recently it cut its annual forecasts due to Google’s new rules regarding toolbars. As a result, the institute will cut forecasts and refocus its measures, with the company expected to issue a new strategic plan focusing on the mobile market. Moving away from the web search market, the company will reduce its 450-500 man workforce, laying off dozens of employees. According to reports, Perion will soon launch a new product for the mobile market, but is in no hurry to liquidate its traditional web search business. Perion was founded in 2000 by Yaron and Ofer Adler.
October 29, 2014
Ben Gurion University And EMC Team Up To Develop Cloud Solutions
October 29, 2014 | The Department of Computer Science at Ben Gurion University received a large grant from cloud computing and big data company EMC to develop worldwide Hadoop software. The project will be a collaborative effort between EMC’s research and development center in Beer Sheva and Prof. Ehud Gudes (Leader), Prof. Amnon Meisels, Prof. Michal Ziv Ukelson and Prof. Shlomi Dolev of Ben Gurion University. The bodies will work together to develop a global data management environment for multiple clouds. The technology is based on EMC patents and the hard work of EMC Sales CTO, Dr. Patricia Florissi.
