Israel High Tech Scene May 25 – May 31

Tel Aviv at sunset, Israel Startup Israel

Israel High Tech Scene May 25 – May 31

New Startups / VC Funding
Israeli Startup Orca AI Offers Autonomous Shipping Platform
Orca AI is an Israeli startup that offers an AI-based operational platform for autonomous shipping. The company raised $23 million in new funding, led by OCV Partners and Mizmaa Ventures, taking its total raised to nearly $40 million.

Autonomous shipping refers to vessels that can operate with little or no human interaction. Semi-autonomous ships (SAS) have some automated systems for tasks like navigation and collision avoidance, but still require a crew on board to handle complex situations. Remotely controlled ships (RCS) are controlled by operators on land, similar to drones but on a much larger scale. There might still be… Read More Here

Israeli Startup Firefly Raises $23 Million After Founder Murdered By Hamas On October 7
Israeli startup Firefly, which offers a Cloud Control Plane solution, lost one of its founders and CTO Sefi Genis when he was murdered at the Nova Festival massacre during the brutal Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023. The firm just raised $23 million in a Series A round of funding.

Sefi Genis died a hero as he tried to stop the terrorists during the attack; even though… Read More Here

Other Business Stories
Bank Of Israel Leaves Interest Rate Unchanged At 4.5%
The Bank of Israel on Monday said that its Monetary Committee decided to leave the interest rate unchanged. The rate will remain at 4.5%.

The decision not to raise the rate can be taken as a good sign, meaning that inflation is in check and has not gotten worse. At the same time, the decision not to cut the rate means that there are still concerns about inflation; however, the decision also means that the Bank of Israel does feel the economy is slow and in need of the stimulation that a rate cut would… Read More Here

Israeli Titans To Continue Battle: Orca Security’s Lawsuit Against Wiz Over Copyright Infringement To Continue
The legal battle between two major Israeli firms, Orca Security an Israeli cybersecurity startup that specializes in cloud services security and Wiz an Israeli unicorn that offers an API security platform, alleging copyright infringement, is set to move forward. Calaclist reported that a Delaware court rejected Wiz’s request to dismiss the lawsuit which seeks to block Wiz from signing any new businesses with technologies that Orca Security alleges Wiz infringed on its patents and seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The court also assigned “expert external consultants” to review the companies’ respective designs in order to determine if there is basis to Orca Security’s… Read More Here

Politics
Ireland And Norway Join Spain In Recognizing Palestine As An Independent State
Ireland and Norway Tuesday declared their respective recognitions of Palestine as an independent state. The two nations made their announcements shortly after the government of Spain did so first on Tuesday morning.

The government of Ireland issued a statement saying, “Ireland recognizes the State of Palestine in the spirit of peace in a coordinated announcement with our friends and colleagues in Spain and Norway.”

Norway also said that it agreed to establish… Read More Here

French President Emmanuel Macron Hints At Recognition For Palestinian State
French President Emmanuel Macron is the latest European leader to say that he is considering recognizing an independent Palestinian State. This comes after Norway, Spain and Ireland all extended such official recognitions on Tuesday.

Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Germany, said, “I am totally prepared to recognize a Palestinian state but this recognition must come at a useful moment.”

However, the French President also made it clear that he will not rush into making any decisions, nor be swayed by the emotions of the… Read More Here

Nikki Haley Visits Israel, Signs Bomb Writing ‘Finish Them’
Nikki Haley, a former American Presidential candidate, governor and former ambassador to the UN, is visiting Israel this week where she toured the sites of the October 7 Hamas terrorist massacre and declared her support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, telling Israel to “Finish Them.” She was joined by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.

While touring an Israel Defense Forces camp, Nikki Haley wrote personal messages on 155mm bombs to be fired by Israeli artillery. On one she wrote… Read More Here

Ari Emanuel Denounces Benjamin Netanyahu, Says He Should Resign
Ari Emanuel, the high-powered entertainment mogul and brother of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, caused a stir when he publicly denounced Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Emanuel’s remarks came when, in Los Angeles, he accepted the “Humanitarian Award” from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

In calling for Benjamin Netanyahu to resign, Ari Emanuel said, “Israel will never be truly secure with Bibi Netanyahu in charge,” and also, “For the good of Israel, he should go.”

While the event was not filmed… Read More Here

Science/Archeology
Jerusalem Of Gold: A 2300-Year-Old Gold Ring Was Found In The City Of David
In another amazing discovery, Israeli archeologists uncovered a 2300-year-old gold set with a precious stone ring in the ancient City of David, located just to the south of the Old City of Jerusalem’s walls.

The ring was found in the joint Israel Antiquities Authority – Tel Aviv University excavation. Its small diameter leads experts to suggest it is a child’s ring, either girl or boy, who lived in Jerusalem during the Hellenistic period ) sometime between the mid 4th and the mid 2nd centuries B.C. The find will be exhibited to the public for the first time in the free Jerusalem Day conference arranged by the Israel Antiquities Authority – “Jerusalem Mysteries – The Archaeology of… Read More Here