Israel High Tech Scene October 1 – October 7

Tel Aviv at sunset, Israel Startup Israel

New Startups / VC Funding
Kahun Raises $8 Million For Tech That Aids Doctors
Kahun, an Israeli medtech startup that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to offer doctors a clinical assistant, raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by LocalGlobe with the participation of European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund as part of the EIC Accelerator program and The Founders Kitchen (TFK). Kahun has now brought in a total of $13 million in funding to date.

The Founders Kitchen investment fund is led by Uri Levine, founder of Waze. It invests in startups that address “big problems, disrupt inefficient markets and improve dysfunctional services, empowering… Read More Here

Onyxia Raises $5 Million For Cyber Security
Onyxia, an Israeli cyber security startup that offers an AI-powered cybersecurity strategy and performance platform, raised $5 million in seed fundraising led by World Trade Ventures (WTV) with participation by Silvertech Ventures and angel investors. Onyxia allows enterprises and managed security service providers (MSSPs) real-time insight into their internal systemic and macro cybersecurity postures, proactively highlighting strategies to close imminent security gaps and threats.

Onyxia was founded in 2022 by Sivan Tehila, who served as CISO of the Research and Analysis Division and Head of Information Security… Read More Here

Jonathan Soros’ Athletes Unlimited Raises $30 Million For Women’s Sports
Jonathan Soros – son of billionaire investor George Soros – was one of the founders of Athletes Unlimited, a network of professional women’s sports leagues that has grown from one league in 2020 to four in 2022. Athletes Unlimited raised $30 million in new funding from a diverse group of investors from inside as well as outside the sports industry.

Schusterman Family Investments was one of Athletes Unlimited’s early investors along with Jane Gottesman of Earlystone Management… Read More Here

IPOs and Unicorns
Israeli Unicorn TripActions Looks To $12 Billion IPO
TripActions, an Israeli startup and a unicorn that offers travel tech solutions is looking toward holding an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in New York sometime in 2023. TripActions was reported to have filed its confidential prospectus for the IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company expects as much as a $12 billion valuation from its IPO.

TripActions first became a unicorn just one year ago when it raised $275 million in a Series F growth funding round that gave the company a $7.25 billion valuation in October 2021. So it has clearly grown… Read More Here

Mobileye To Finally Hold IPO, Expects $30 Billion Valuation
Mobileye, the Israeli company that develops autonomous driving and driver-assist technologies and is owned by Intel, hopes to finally hold its long-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO). Mobileye plans to trade Class A shares of common stock on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol “MBLY.” Intel plans to retain official control of the company, keeping class B shares that carry 10 votes apiece. The Class A shares will come with only one vote each.

Mobileye originally anticipated a valuation of $50 billion from its IPO. But due to the worldwide crisis in the markets, that figure has reportedly dropped to $30 billion. It was for that reason that Intel… Read More Here

Mergers and Acquisitions
Delek’s NewMed To Merge With British Capricorn Energy
NewMed Energy, a unit of Israel’s Delek Group Ltd, is merging with Capricorn Energy plc, a British firm that is already traded on the London Stock Exchange. In what is being described as a “reverse merger,” the two companies will combine to form MENA gas and energy champion which they say will be one of the largest upstream energy independents listed on the London exchange.

NewMed was formerly known as Delek Drilling, but changed its name in February, 2022… Read More Here

Equashield Medical Worth $1.3 Billion After Nordic Capitol Buys 25% Stake For $300 Million
Equashield, an Israeli medtech company that develops, manufactures and markets devices to make drugs safer in hospitals by protecting healthcare workers from exposure to hazardous drugs and preventing microbial contamination, has raised $300 million in investment from Nordic Capital for a 25% stake in the company. This left Equashield with a $1.3 billion valuation.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who has followed Israel Startup Nation over the years. Its firms are known for their medtech… Read More Here

Other Business Stories
Bank Of Israel Raises Interest Rate By 0.75 Percentage Points To 2.75 Percent
The Monetary Committee of the Bank of Israel (BOI) has decided to once again raise interest rates only a few months after the previous raise. This time the rate was raised by another 0.75 percentage points to 2.75 percent. The reason for the move was obvious – the need to counter the continuing worldwide growth in inflation.

Inflation has grown over the past 18 months for several reasons. The first was the world exiting the global Covid crisis…. Read More Here

Israeli Insurance Company Lemonade Launches In UK
Lemonade, an Israeli insurance company powered by AI and social impact, launched in the United Kingdom on Monday. Residents across the UK can now get Lemonade Contents insurance instantly, from anywhere, on any device, as well as file claims and get paid in seconds.

Lemonade is entering the UK market in a long-term, strategic partnership with leading UK insurer, Aviva. The launch follows Lemonade’s previous launches in France, Germany, and the Netherlands… Read More Here

Buried Treasure Found: 44 Byzantine Gold Coins Discovered In Israel
A treasure of 44 pure gold coins was recently discovered in the area of Banias – an ancient city near a tributary of the Jordan River in the Golan. The coins provide archeologists evidence of what they described as a dramatic moment in the history of Israel – the Muslim conquest of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in the Middle East.

The coins are comprised entirely of gold solidus coins (a highly pure gold coin issued by Constantine during the Late Roman Empire era, with some identified as of Emperor Phocas (602–610 CE), and many minted by Emperor… Read More Here

Hebrew U. Study: Sweeter Isn’t Always Tastier
A new study from researchers at the Hebrew University shows that sweeter is not necessarily better when it comes to a person’s taste preferences. This news may be hard for some people to swallow since the whole world is convinced that sweeter is always better, isn’t it?

The new study was conducted by student Kim Asseo, under the supervision of Professor Masha Niv, a taste expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)’s Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. It analyzed thousands of customer reviews of food products sold online, and found… Read More Here

Asio Technologies Completes Delivery Of Thousands Of ORION Systems To The IDF
Asio Technologies, an Israeli developer and manufacturer of tactical solutions for defense, security, and paramilitary applications, recently completed the delivery of thousands of its ORION Systems to the IDF. Asio Technologies’ ORION systems are currently in operational use by the IDF, alongside the company’s other cutting-edge tactical solutions.

Defense is becoming more and more a high-tech matter. Armies around the world must have the most advanced military technologies – anything from drones, to satellites and missile defense systems – at their disposal to defend their countries. And advanced communications systems are vital…. Read More Here