News Briefs

As part of the the Mobile World Conference taking place in Barcelona, Israeli VoIP app Viber has announced another significant milestone, reaching 175 million active users. The recent growth indicates an average rate of 500,000 new users per day.

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Israeli company Alvarion Ltd., which provides optimized wireless broadband solutions addressing the connectivity, coverage and capacity challenges of public and private networks, has announced that the company has deployed its  wireless broadband solution for the implementation of Argentinian city Mar del Plata’s Smart City network. The project is valued at over $1 million.

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American state Virginia has launched a new incubator program for Israeli agritech companies, called Gateway USA: Agritech. Members of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) are currently interviewing Israeli companies in order to choose which ones will participate. The program will invest up to $10 million in the Israeli companies over the next two to three years.

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Israeli company Avraham Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which is developing ladostigil, a novel molecule designed for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, has announced that it has raised $5.7 million. The investment was made by Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Pontifax, Clal Biotechnology Industries and the Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd.

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ActivePath, an Israeli company which developed a browser plugin which enables businesses to send secure emails to their clients is merging with American company Powerinbox. The deal’s worth was not disclosed, but the merger was done following a $10 million dollar financing round by the Israeli company.

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According to the IVC Research Center, there was a 30 percent decline in money raised by VC funds in 2012, raising $670 million. Three major funds Sequoia V, Pitango VI and Magma III, were responsible for 74 percent of the money raised, raising $450 million.

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As part of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) taking place in Barcelona next week, four Israeli companies are nominated for awards in the Global Mobile Awards competition. Navigation app Waze is nominated for Best Mobile App, Isracard’s mobile app is nominated for Best NFC/ Mobile Money Product or Service, uTest is nominated for Best Enterprise Mobile Service and Intucell (recently acquired by Cisco for $475m), is nominated for Best Mobile Infrastructure.

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Israeli company Wix Inc., which offers a free website building platform that requires no programming knowledge, is planning an IPO on Wall Street at a company value of $300 million. News agency Bloomberg reports that the Israeli company will seek around $75 million. The company, founded in 2006, has raised $66 million to date.

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Israeli company Pentalum Technologies Ltd., which develops sensors for the wind energy market, has announced that it has raised $5.5 in a series C financing round. The company will use the funds to expand production of its SpiDAR, a sensor for the remote measuring of wind.

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Israel Corp, which owns the controlling share of electric car venture Better Place is preparing to inject $32 million to the company. Financial magazine Calcalist reports that the injection will occur within the next few days. In addition, Better Place will receive $18 million from private investors.

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After creating a buzz by reporting 1.5 billion daily recommendations, Israeli company Taboola has announced that it has raised $15 million, in a financing round led by Pitango Venture Capital. Taboola says that the funds will be directed towards doubling their staff and opening new offices in countries they wish to expand to.

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Israeli company ironSource, which develops technology for download websites, has acquired another Israeli company, AfterDownload, which specializes in advertising on such websites. Financial magazine Calcalist reports that ironSource paid $28 million for the acquisition, of which $20 million was paid in cash and the rest in stocks.

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Biopharmaceutical company Chiasma Inc., which develops oral drugs that were previously only available by injection, has signed a strategic development agreement with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche AG. According to the agreement, Chiasma will receive a down payment of $65 million, and up to $530 million more in milestone payments.

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Israeli company Medgenics Ltd., has raised $29.4 million in a public offering on Wall Street. Medgenics is developing a unique sustained-action therapeutic protein delivery technology for the treatment of a range of chronic diseases. The technology – called a “Biopump” – is made from the patient’s own skin and is implanted in a simple procedure to work inside the patient’s body.

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Israeli cooking app Look & Cook, which was developed by Kinetic Art, was selected as one of only a handful of apps featured on Apple’s new iPad Mini campaign. The app features 44 recipes by Israeli chef Meir Adoni, with easy to follow step-by-step video instructions. The app utilizes voice recognition to enable the user to scroll through the recipe without touching the iPad.

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