Israel High Tech Scene February 9 – February 16

Tel Aviv at sunset, Israel Startup Israel

Israel High Tech Scene February 9 – February 16

New Startups / VC Funding
Three Israeli Startups – Clarity, Lava Network And Seal Security – All Make Seed Raises
In two new deals that show how Israel Startup Nation is still strong despite the ongoing Iron Swords War in Gaza, Australian investments firm Macquarie invested $32 million in shares in Israeli biometrics and behavioral unicorn BioCatch. At the same time, and Israeli company made an acquisition abroad as Hibob, an Israeli startup and a unicorn that offers a human resources management technology platform, bought the British payroll platform Pento for $40 million… Read More Here

Mergers and Acquisitions
Deals In Both Directions: HiBob Buys Payroll Platform Pento For $40 Million And Macquarie Takes $32 Million Slice Of BioCatch
In two new deals that show how Israel Startup Nation is still strong despite the ongoing Iron Swords War in Gaza, Australian investments firm Macquarie invested $32 million in shares in Israeli biometrics and behavioral unicorn BioCatch. At the same time, and Israeli company made an acquisition abroad as Hibob, an Israeli startup and a unicorn that offers a human resources management technology platform, bought the British payroll platform Pento for $40 million.

Calcalist reported that the Macquarie investment in BioCatch came in a purchase from the startup’s early investors giving the firm a value of slightly more than $1 billion… Read More Here

Other Business Stories
Moody’s Deals Israel Another Blow – Downgrades Its Biggest Banks
Moody’s, one of the world’s most important credit ratings agencies, has struck again. For the second time in less than a week, it made a move that will have dramatic repercussions for Israel’s economy: Moody’s downgraded the ratings for Israel’s five largest banks – Leumi, Hapoalim (the workers), Mizrahi Bank, Discount and Benleumi (international).

The news comes just a few days after Moody’s downgraded Israel’s credit rating from A1 to A2, which means it was rated as upper-medium grade and low credit risk… Read More Here

Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Plans $8 Billion Plant In India
In some much-needed good news for Israel Startup Nation, Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, a leading foundry for analog semiconductor solutions, is in talks to build an $8 billion chip fabrication plant in India. The Indian Express reported that Tower has already submitted the plans for the new plant to the Indian government for its approval.

Tower Semiconductor, according to the report, plans to manufacture 65 nanometer and 40 nanometer chips in India which may be used in a number of… Read More Here

Israel’s CyberArk Breaks $10 Billion Market Cap
CyberArk, one of Israel Startup Nation’s biggest successes in the cybersecurity field, hit a $10 billion plus market cap on Wall Street this week. Trading on the NASDAQ, CyberArk is now the eighth most valuable publicly traded Israeli company, behind behemoths like Check Point Software and Mobileye.

This came after CyberArk reported that its subscription revenue was $150.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 70 percent from $88.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company… Read More Here

Israel’s JFrog Hits $5 Billion Market Cap
Israeli liquid software company JFrog hit a market cap of $5 billion on Thursday when its shares rose by a whopping 28%. The jump in value came after JFrog issued a strong earnings expectation for 2024 of $424 million and $428 million, or a full-year adjusted earnings per share of between $0.58 and $0.60.

Also, JFrog’s revenue grew 27% year over year to $97.3 million… Read More Here

Facebook ‘Cancels’ Iranian Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei
The “Supreme Leader” of Iran Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei has had his Facebook account suspended. The decision to suspend his account was made by Meta/Facebook after Khamenei made repeated calls for Israel’s destruction in the months after the barbaric attack carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

The suspension also applies to his Instagram account where Khamenei had more than five million followers on his Persian language account… Read More Here

Science
Goodbye To Spoiled Fruits And Vegetables – Israeli Scientists Make New Breakthrough With Preservation
Israel Startup Nation does it again. Israeli scientists from Bar-Ilan University found a new way to preserve fruits and vegetables by coating them with edible nanoparticles. They say this can extend the shelf life of strawberries by 15 days.

Israel has been at the forefront of breakthroughs of this kind for a long time. From lab-grown meat to lab-grown coffee and vegetables, Israel Startup Nation leads the way… Read More Here

Israeli Researchers Find Successfully Prevent Memory Deterioration In Alzheimer’s
Tel Aviv University researchers say they have successfully prevented memory deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s Disease in an animal model. The researchers discovered a method with the potential for early detection of Alzheimer’s during sleep or anesthesia in the pre-symptomatic stage, between 10-20 years before the onset of dementia symptoms.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that gradually destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually, the ability to… Read More Here

Israeli Scientists Connect Gut Bacteria To Autism
A team of Israeli scientists at Bar-Ilan University conducted a study that shows that microbiome changes – specifically gut microbiomes – in the body are linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is one of several such breakthroughs related to Autism made by Israelis in recent times.

The gut microbiome is a complex community of trillions of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, that live in your digestive tract. These tiny microbes play a crucial role in many aspects of your health, from digestion and nutrient absorption to immune function and even mood… Read More Here