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In the 20th Jul 2014 edition of Israel’s good news:
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
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Israel’s best quarter for a decade. Israeli high-tech firms raised $930 million from Apr to Jun 2014, the sector’s strongest three-month period in more than ten years. Israeli high-tech firms raised $1.6 billion in the first half of 2014, which is the strongest capital raising period on record for Israel’s high-tech industry.
Record trade with Turkey. Israel’s exports to Turkey are currently surpassing 2013’s record level. In the first fiscal quarter of 2014 there was a surge of nearly 25% to $949.2 million, compared to the same period in 2013.
Israel could become the largest gas exporter in the Middle East. Another report about the Arab countries that are buying some of the 19 trillion cubic meters of gas from Israel’s Leviathan field.
And Egypt says Israeli gas is vital for their economy. Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Sherif Ismail does not mind allowing British BG Group to import gas from Israel. “Whatever is in Egypt’s interest must be implemented immediately as we are dealing with an energy crisis, ” the minister said.
Israel signs first-of-its-kind R&D agreement with Japan. Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Toshimitsu Motegi has signed an industrial research and development collaboration agreement with Israel’s Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett. Israel is the first country with which Japan has signed such an agreement.
Yahoo buys Israeli streaming startup RayV. Yahoo has bought an Israel-based startup specializing in streaming high-quality video to computers and mobile devices. RayV will become part of the Yahoo’s research and development team in Tel Aviv.
Wilocity exits for $300 million. Multinational Qualcomm has bought Israeli startup chip designer Wilocity in order to bring a faster, short-distance wireless technology to mobile devices. Wilocity pioneered Wireless Gigabit chips – known as WiGig, which transmit data at speeds that can remove the need for physical cables.
Gartner buys Senexx. (Thanks to Israel21c) Gartner, a leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, has acquired Israel’s Senexx, a cloud-based questions and answers platform that identifies and manages expertise within organizations. Senexx will enhance Garner’s web search capability.
Another $9 million for joint US-Israeli projects. Following its January investment, the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) foundation has invested a further $9 million in 11 more Israeli-American cooperative projects. They cover 3D printing, agro-technology, information security, and homeland security.
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Transforming liver cells to cure type 1 diabetes. Israel’s Orgenesis is a pioneer in the field of “cellular trans-differentiation”, a process to transform a type 1 diabetic patient’s own liver cells into new insulin-producing cells. Orgenesis is partnering with Belgium’s MaSTherCell to scale up development.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Israel signs Bio-med research agreement with California. Companies from Israel and California will enjoy financial assistance for joint R&D projects. The agreement was signed at the Bio Conference in San Diego. An Israeli delegation consisting of 17 Israel bio-med companies took part in the Israeli pavilion at the conference.
Israeli helps California date farmers. Israel’s Hadiklaim Date Growers’ Cooperative commissioned veteran Israeli date grower Moshe Kirat to bring his date growth expertise to the La Quinta Date Farm in California. In one year, Kirat has reduced water consumption by 43% and boosted productivity, saving over $2.4 million.
US Patent for “quantum search” app. Israel’s NovoSpeech has received a patent for its quantum computing search algorithm for speech recognition. The algorithm will allow a mobile device to translate speech into text as fast as a desktop or server.
The talking car. Those who remember the TV series Knight Rider will be pleased to hear that the Israeli-Californian Robin Labs has designed an intelligent voice recognition and communication system for the driver. It can provide updates on traffic, routes, parking locations, gas prices, weather, and more. It can even tell jokes.
Don’t leave baby in a hot car. Israeli start-up Bapeep is developing a car alarm that, when you switch off your car engine, will remind you to take your baby out of the car. On average, 37 US children die every year after being forgotten in a hot car. Bapeep’s Indiegogo Crowdfunding goal is $300, 000.
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Iron Dome saves lives. Not a recent video, but a timely one, in view of the current situation in Israel.
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