Israel High Tech Scene July 15 – July 22

Tel Aviv at sunset, Israel Startup Israel

Israel High Tech Scene July 15 – July 22

New Startups / VC Funding

Israeli Open Source Language Developer Wing Cloud Exits Stealth with $20 Million
Wing Cloud, an Israeli startup that offers the open-source Wing Programming Language (Winglang), came out of stealth with $20 million in seed funding led by Battery Ventures, Grove Ventures, and StageOne Ventures; with participation from Secret Chord Ventures, Cerca Partners, and Operator Partners.

An open-source programming language is a programming language whose source code is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute. This means that anyone can contribute to the development of the language… Read More Here

Israel’s CapStack Raises $6 Million for New Fintech
Israeli fintech startup CapStack raises $6 million in pre-Seed funding led by Fin Capital with participation from Alloy Labs, Rex Salisbury’s Cambrian Ventures, Cowboy Ventures and others.

Fintech is a portmanteau of “financial technology”. It refers to the use of technology to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. Fintech companies use new technology to compete with traditional… Read More Here

Stoa Making Cutbacks While GigaSpaces Pays Out $14 Million in Dividends
In another blow to Israel Startup Nation, Stoa — also known as FlipiOS – is cutting 80 jobs or 80% of its total workforce. However, GigaSpaces is doing well and plans to hand out $14 million in dividends.

Founded in 2000, GigaSpaces calls itself a global pioneer in in-memory computing, building one of the market’s first Digital Integration Hubs – an out-of-the-box solution that simplifies organizations’ digital transformation, enabling them to develop and launch digital services at a rapid pace. The GigaSpaces… Read More Here

AISAP and Nevia Bio – Two Israeli Startups Using AI
AISAP and Nevia Bio, formerly Gina Life, are two new Israeli startups using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for different purposes: One for women’s health and the other for medical purposes.

AI has been in the news a lot lately for how it is able to produce all manner of writing, among other things, leaving professional writers scared about losing their jobs. But it is also used in the fields of science and medicine to… Read More Here

Nitrofix and Spiritt Make Small Raises
Nitrofix and Spiritt are two new Israeli startups that just made some small raises. Spiritt, which enables the development of complex applications by describing the concept to a computer without the need to write code, extended its Seed funding round to $13.5 million from investors like Square Peg and Disruptive AI, with participation from SVB. The new funding came one year after Spiritt raised $5.5 million.

And Nitrofix, which produces zero-emission ammonia through a novel electrochemical process, raised $3.1 million in a seed funding round… Read More Here

IPOS and Unicorns

IL Makiage Parent Co Oddity Tech Now Worth $2.8 Billion after NASDAQ IPO
Oddity Tech, the parent company of Israel’s make-up firm IL Makiage, hit a $2.8 billion valuation after holding its NASDAQ IPO. The company sold 12.1 million shares at $35 a share, well above the originally anticipated $27 – $30 price range and raised $424 million from the sale.

And on Wednesday the company’s shares opened at $49.1, a 40% increase on… Read More Here

Israeli Unicorn K Health Raiss another $59 Million
K Health, an Israeli startup and a unicorn that develops a mobile app that uses AI to deliver personalized primary care, raised $59 million from the company’s investors and the largest hospital in California, Cedars Sinai. The company has now raised $325 million to date. And it even includes American rapper Jay-Z, AKA Mr. Beyoncé Knowles, as one of its investors.

It was in January of 2021 that the company hit the coveted unicorn status – a startup with at least a $1 billion valuation. At the time K Health reached a $1.4 billion valuation when it raised $132 million in a Series E round… Read More Here

Mergers and Acquisitions

Phillip Morris Buying Israel’s Syqe Medical For $650 Million
Syqe Medical, an Israeli firm that develops a cannabis inhaler, the world’s first, is being acquired by American corporate behemoth Phillip Morris, best known for its tobacco products. According to Israel’s Calcalist, the deal could be worth as much as $650 million and includes an initial investment of $120 million to support the process of obtaining FDA approval for Syqe’s inhaler.

Medical cannabis is a term for derivatives of the Cannabis sativa plant that are used to ease symptoms caused by certain medical conditions. Medical cannabis is used to treat a variety of conditions, including chronic pain… Read More Here

Stratasys Moves Forward With Accepting 3D Systems’ Takeover Bid
Israeli 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys has been the target of a takeover bid by American 3D printer technology firm 3D Systems, which was launched in May. Now comes word that Stratasys is ready to move forward with negotiations for the buyout after rejecting another takeover bid made by Nano Dimensions.

The deal offered by 3D Systems is a cash and stock merger that would convert each Stratasys share into $7.50 in cash and 1.2507 newly issued shares of 3D Systems common stock. 3D Systems declared that should the merger go… Read More Here

Other Business Stories

Vesttoo Fraud Could Be Worth As Much As $4 Billion
New information has surfaced about allegations of fraud made against Vesttoo, an Israeli insurtech startup and a unicorn.

According to a report in Calcalist, Vesttoo investors allegedly provided fake letters of credit (LOCs) to insurers for reinsurance transactions on the Vesttoo platform are believed to total a sum of around $4 billion. Most of these letters… Read More Here

Elbit Systems Cuts New $114 Million Deal
Elbit Systems was awarded a contract worth approximately $114 million with an Asian-Pacific country to supply two long-range patrol aircraft (LRPA) equipped with an advanced and comprehensive mission suite. The contract will be carried out over a period of five years. The nation in question was not identified.

Israel is known for its world-leading defense industries like Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Elbit and more. Just last month the Israel Ministry of Defense’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) inaugurated… Read More Here

Tal Dilian’s Intellexa and Cytrox Blacklisted by U.S.
Tal Dilian, a former senior ranking IDF intelligence officer and a high-tech entrepreneur, is in big trouble with the American government. The Administration of President Joe Biden blacklisted two firms that Dilian runs. Cybersecurity firms Intellexa and Cytrox have both been placed on the official U.S. Commerce Department blacklist.

This means that American firms are basically prohibited from doing business with Intellexa and Cytrox… Read More Here

Elbit Systems Awarded $150 Million Contract To Supply PULS Rocket Artillery Systems
Elbit Systems announced that it was awarded a $150 million contract to supply PULS (Precise and Universal Launching Systems) rocket launchers and a package of precision-guided long-range rockets to an international customer. The contract will be performed over a period of three years.

The identity of the client was not revealed.

This comes just a few days after Elbit Systems was… Read More Here