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ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Investment soars into Israeli clean tech. Israeli clean tech companies have raised $151 million in the first nine months of 2013. The top deals were: $65 million raised by bio-agritech Kaiima; $25 million raised by energy saving chip developer Altair Semiconductor and $18 million raised by recycling company Blue Sphere.
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Unemployment down again. Israel’s unemployment rate fell to 6.1% in the third quarter, from 6.8% in the second quarter. Participation in the workforce went up, as did the percentage of full-time employees.
A start-up is like a diet – never give up. Entrepreneur/investor Jeff Pulver advised business leaders launching new companies in downtown Haifa. “The biggest cause of failure in fitness, and in start-ups, is giving up. Just because you didn’t get an investment it doesn’t mean you don’t have a good idea. Never give up.”
-AOL discovers Israel and IKEA assembles another site. AOL is hiring employees for its Israeli development center. It is seeking developers, content managers, production managers, and support staff. Meanwhile, IKEA is building a new site near Haifa that will employ 300 staff.
“Facebook amazed by amount of talent in Israel”. Facebook’s Vice President told Israel’s President Peres, “It was a momentous decision for Facebook to open its first Research & Development center outside the US. We chose Israel in the knowledge that the best talent is found here.”
-Israel writing Azerbaijan’s water plan. Israel’s national water company, Mekorot, has won a 4-year project to draw up a water master plan for Azerbaijan and supply monitoring equipment to the Moslem country.
“Dr Fischer – the man behind the logo”. Aged 78 Dr. Eli Fischer doesn’t plan to retire any time soon. He is a scientist, successful industrialist, philanthropist and an international brand. “Dr ” has over 500 different products and employs over 750 direct employees. His autobiography has just been published in the US.
-Solar power for Inner Mongolia. Israel’s HelioFocus will build a $340 million 200-megawatt solar boosting system for Chinese energy company Taiqing in Inner Mongolia. It will reduce dramatically the carbon emissions from an existing coal-fired power station.
Asurion buys Soluto. (Thanks to Israel21c) US technology protection services giant Asurion has made a surprise purchase of Tel Aviv-based PC management solutions provider Soluto for an estimated $100 million.
-Israel hosts International women’s conference. Mashav (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) is holding the 28th International Women Leaders’ Conference in Haifa in cooperation with the United Nations. The conference aims to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
-“Peace University” to open in Nazareth. The Israeli Ministry of Education announced the founding of a university in Nazareth to be called “Peace University” that aims to foster coexistence between Arabs and Jews. It will be an Israeli campus of Texas A&M University, and most of the funding for it comes from the US.
-Mini-golf thru the Bible. Newsletter subscriber Grant Crankshaw has had a great idea – a project to build a Bible-themed mini-golf park in Raanana. Grant is using Crowdfunding to raise funds – another great Israeli idea. Please support him by pledging to buy discounted tickets. Your contribution is only withdrawn from your bank if the campaign reaches its investment target. Please watch the video at the headstart crowdfunding site.
-The biggest underwater shoot-out. For the 9th year in a row, the Red Sea competition took place in Eilat. Integrating elements from photography, high-tech, tourism and diving industries, the event is one of the world’s leading underwater photography competitions.
-Start-up Israel. An excellent video I must have missed due to there being so many good news stories.
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ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Reproducing the earliest stem cells. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute are the first in the world to produce completely “reset” stem cells from adult cells. Re-engineered stem cells were previously primed to be specific to certain cells in the body. The new Israeli stem cells have the potential to be grown into any organ.
Freezing lung cancer to death. (Thanks to NoCamels.com) The IceSense3 tumor-freezing technology from Israel’s IceCure is already destroying breast cancer. Now IceCure is to conduct clinical trials on lung cancer tumors, fully funded by the Kameda Medical Center of Japan.
Trials start on blood clot treatment. Israel’s D-Pharm has begun Phase 2 testing in the Ukraine of its THR-18 treatment for patients suffering from blood clots and strokes.
Israel’s health is on the move. The Mobile Health Israel Conference in Tel Aviv brought together health professionals, entrepreneurs, data experts, and others involved in the movement toward digitizing health records, distance medicine, and other innovations in health care that are part of the digital revolution.
Your personal diagnosis device. Israeli start-up Tyto Health Care has developed a device that can gather information straight from a patient’s mouth and throat, eyes, ears, heart, lungs, and skin. It includes a camera and microphone to take measurements, uploading the results to a doctor or health management organization.
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Yad Sarah Presents: Gadgets for the Elderly. The Yad Sarah’s mobile unit has been making a difference for senior citizens by showing them new devices and activities that can help them lead fuller, more comfortable lives.
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Take your Israeli hedgehog anywhere. (Thanks to NoCamels) “Keepod” is the Hebrew word for “hedgehog”. The spiny animal was the inspiration to the Israeli designers of the Keepod USB device. Insert it into any computer (PC, Mac etc) and your information, applications and operating system are available and secure.
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Learning together for a better world. This video describes the aims of the iPodia alliance and its global project “Classrooms without borders” in which Israel’s Technion Institute is a key contributor.
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OrCam glasses are now available. (Thanks to Israel21c) In my 9th June newsletter I reported that Israeli start-up OrCam’s camera-based system will “read” to the visually impaired whilst on the move. Well the revolutionary spectacles are now being shipped at a cost of $2, 500 a pair. Thanks to Myer for the alert.
Developing with South Carolina. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) The US State of South Carolina and Israel signed an agreement to establish a bilateral research and development initiative designed to enhance collaboration. Funds will be provided for projects that strengthen economic, industrial, technological and commercial cooperation.
New material to remove pollutants. Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has commercialized a clay-based mineral developed by Dr Yael Mishael of the Hebrew U. The mineral is modified with polymers to absorb organic polluting chemicals and is even better than active carbon.
Improving crop yields. Israel’s Evogene has signed agreements with Monsanto, Dupont Pioneer and Syngenta to provide genes that enable essential food crops such as corn, soybean, cotton and canola to resist disease.
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