June 15, 2014 | The world’s largest online poker site, PokerStars will be sold to Amaya Gaming for a reported $4.9 billion in cash. PokerStars has offered itself up to sale to the small Canadian gambling equipment supplier Amaya Gaming in hopes that it will give the online gambling company leverage to reenter US markets. The highly popular poker website was pushed out of the United States following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act by President George W. Bush, forcing the Israeli-born Canadian founder Isai Scheinberg to move the company’s headquarters to the Isle of Man.
News Briefs
June 15, 2014
Amaya Gaming To Buy PokerStars For $4.9B
June 15, 2014
Google Partners With Screenz To Create “Rising Star” Voting Platform
June 15, 2014 | Google has partnered with Screenz, an Israeli cross-media company, to create Screenz Real Time, an interactive video platform that allows viewers to vote in real time during live television shows. The Screenz Real Time platform will be used on ABC network’s newest singing reality show “Rising Star”, which is also originally an Israeli TV format, to allow viewers to vote for their favorite contestant. In fact, Screenz developed its platform in Israel in conjunction with the first Israeli season of “Rising Star” on Keshet and consequently, the platform will be used on all of the 25 international versions of the show.
June 15, 2014
Verisae Acquires ViryaNet For $19M
June 15, 2014 | The Israeli software solutions company ViryaNet was acquired by Verisae for a sum of $19 million, “Globes” reports. In a deal that will make ViryaNet a business unit of the US-based company, Verisae will pay nearly $18.8 million in cash for ownership of the company. Verisae, most famous as the global provider of the Connected Facility, software that combines maintenance, machine monitoring, energy and sustainability solutions, is set to use ViryaNet’s mobile workforce service improvement software to upgrade their client services. ViryaNet was founded in 1988 by Shmuel Cohen and CEO Memy Ish-Shalom and currently has its headquarters in Massachusetts, with offices in Florida and Jerusalem’s Har Hotzvim technological park.
June 15, 2014
SiSense Big Data Analytics Raises $30M In Financing Round
June 15, 2014 | The Israeli big data analytics company SiSense raised $30 million in its latest round of financing, according to a “Globes” report. The financing round was led by DFJ Growth as well as Battery Ventures, Genesis Partners and Opus Capital, helping SiSense raise a reported $44 million to date. SiSense was founded in 2005 by CEO Amit Bendov and considers itself the only fully-functional business intelligence tool for ‘non-techies’ on the market.
June 15, 2014
Roman Abramovich Invests $10M In StoreDot
June 15, 2014 | According to reports by the “Wall Street Journal” Russian billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich invested $10 million in StoreDot. StoreDot is an Israeli startup producing electronics using bio-organic materials and recently made a splash in the headlines when it revealed a method for charging a Samsung smartphone in 30 seconds. The investment was carried out through Abramovich’s asset management company Millhouse LLC, making this is the second investment of the firm in Israel.
June 12, 2014
Viber Surpasses 100M Active Users, Reaching 360M Total
June 12, 2014 | The popular free mobile messaging service Viber announced that is has surpassed 100 million active users, reaching a new total of 360 million unique registered users. In celebration of the milestone, Viber is updating its desktop application, which was recently released, with a new look and better video quality. The Israeli company that was incorporated in Cyprus was acquired by Japanese ecommerce and Internet giant Rakuten for $900 million in Feburary of this year.
June 12, 2014
Duracell Powermat And Starbucks Roll Out Wireless Charging Hotspots
June 12, 2014 | Duracell Powermat and American coffee retailer Starbucks announced today (Thursday) that they have begun a national rollout of Powermat’s wireless charging in Starbucks’ San Francisco, California locations. The two companies hope to expand the option for Powermat’s wireless mobile charging to other Starbucks and Teavana locations in 2015. Each of the Starbucks franchises will be equipped with Powermats on designated tables and counters for quick wireless charging. Duracell Powermat is joint venture between Duracell and Powermat, an Israeli company, to create a viable wireless charging solution.
June 12, 2014
Mapal Green Energy Signs Contract With UK’s United Utilities
June 12, 2014 | Mapal Green Energy, the creator of the floating fine bubble aeration system (FFBA), announced its third contact signed in the United Kingdom, now with United Utilities, the country’s largest water company. The company’s FFBA system will be installed at United Utilities’ Horwich Plant to help make the treatment of wastewater more energy efficient. Mapal’s energy-efficient wastewater treatment solutions were also chosen recently by other British water companies like Angilan Water and Thames Water.
June 12, 2014
Technion And UConn Establish Energy Exchange Program
June 12, 2014 | The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the University of Connecticut announced that they will begin an exchange program between students and faculty called the Satell UConn-Technion Leadership Program for Global Energy Sustainability. The exchange program was made possible following a donation by the non-for-profit Satell Family Foundation based in Pennsylvania. The program will allow groups of faculty and graduate students at both institutions to exchange important research insights through visits and cooperation between their campuses.
June 12, 2014
Zula Team Communications App Raises $3M In Latest Financing Round
June 12, 2014 | Israeli communications application Zula announced Wednesday (yesterday) that it raised $3 million in its current financing round led by Morton Meyerson of 2M Companies. The new batch of funding is added on to the $1.1 million that the company raised in seed funding from investors like OurCrowd, Gigi Levy-Weiss and Oded Vardi, just to name a few. Founded in 2010 by Jeff Pulver and Jacod Ner-David, Zula provides mobile solutions for team communication and planning with features like file-sharing, group conference calls, team polling all under one roof.
June 12, 2014
Israeli Health App MediSafe Wins Fourth Qualcomm Competition
June 12, 2014 | Qualcomm Ventures, the venture capital investment group of Qualcomm, announced the Israeli health startup MediSafe as the winner of the fourth global QPrize competition. The QPrize will provide the startup with an additional $150,000 on top of the $100,000 MediSafe won in regional venture capital competitions. MediSafe, an Israeli startup based in Haifa, is a mobile application that sends notifications regarding medication schedules to family members and caregivers, helping prevent emergencies related to overdosing or underdosing. The health startup is the third Israeli startup to win the Qualcomm competition since its inception in 2009.
June 12, 2014
Verint Set To Make Second Nasdaq IPO Offering Of $600M
June 12, 2014 | The security, surveillance and business intelligence company Verint announced plans to issue five million more shares, which would raise the company approximately $250 million. According to a report in Globes, the shares are set to raise $250 million and, with an additional $300 million from convertible notes, the company is set to total their second Nasdaq IPO offering at nearly $600 million. Verint is a world leader in security and surveillance, providing governments and large companies with tools to make use of the vast amount of information at their fingertips. Although it is originally an American company, over half of Vernit’s 3,200 employees are located in Israel.
June 11, 2014
Entropic To Close Engineering Center In Israel, Other Locations
June 11, 2014| Entropic, a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the home, announced that as part of its corporate restructuring program it will close its engineering center in Israel. According to estimates, the company’s global restructuring efforts will effect nearly 23 percent of Entropic’s international workforce in places like Texas, Israel, India and Taiwan. Entropic hopes to redirect the company’s vision to become more geared towards R&D and product development.
June 11, 2014
Index Ventures Secures $550M In Funding For European, American And Israeli Startups
June 11, 2014 | The global venture capital firm Index Ventures raised a total of €400 million ($550 million) in funding for tech startups in Europe, the United States and Israel. The current round marks the seventh early-stage round for the 18 year-old company that has raised upwards from €3 billion ($4 billion) since it was founded. According to Index Ventures, they intend to focus on the “core hubs” of innovation, which include London, San Francisco, Berlin, New York, Stockholm, Tel Aviv and Paris. Just last year seven of Index Venture’s companies achieved billion dollar exits, which may explain why the company is looking to invest in the ‘fresh meat’ of the tech scene.
June 11, 2014
Fosun Pharma Plans Acquisition Of More Israeli Medical Companies
June 11, 2014 | According to a report in Globes, the Shanghai-based Fosun Pharmaceutical Group plans to acquire a number of Israeli medical companies in the coming months. The announcement made by Fosun Pharma CEO Yao Fang, comes one year after the Chinese pharmaceutical giant bought Israeli laser-fat burning company Alma Lasers for $240 million. According to the report, Yao Fang asserts that Fosun Pharma has already begun due diligence processes with a number of Israeli biomedical companies. Fosun Pharma, founded by four students in 1992, is one of China’s largest pharmaceutical companies that develops and manufactures products focused on genetics, biosimilars, diagnostics and healthcare services.
