Israel High Tech Scene August 31 – September 6
New Startups / VC Funding
Somite: The Israeli Startup Bringing AI Innovation to Stem Cell Research
Somite is an Israeli startup that hopes to become the OpenAI of stem cell biology. The firm raised $10 million in a pre-seed funding round led after adding $4.8 million to an initial raise conducted in April. Somite will use the funds to further develop its AlphaStem AI platform, build research labs, and advance its first therapeutic asset to clinical trials.
Founded in October 2023, Somite is building AI foundation models to produce human tissue at scale for cell therapies. These therapies have the potential… Read More Here
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at [email protected].
Thank you.
Hypernative’s Revolutionary Suite Enhances Safety for All Users
Israeli cybersecurity startup Hypernative offers a suite of AI-powered security products that it boasts makes crypto safer for all participants. Hypernative Raised $16 Million in a Series A Round of funding to “make Web3” hacks a thing of the past.”
Hypernative said its team will use the additional capital to expand into new security stack verticals and to build a Web3 security network. The financing will also allow Hypernative to expand globally, grow its team and establish… Read More Here
Israeli Startup Odeeo Revolutionizes Mobile Game Monetization
Odeeo is an Israeli startup that offers an in-game audio advertising platform. The firm closed a strategic funding round of over $5 million from both existing and new investors.
Odeeo said it timed the investment to coincide with its expansion in key markets, primarily in North America. The company is growing its US team and operations, with Co-Founder and President Elad Stern relocating from… Read More Here
Mergers and Acquisitions
Nvidia Faces DOJ Scrutiny Over Israeli Startup Run:AI Acquisition
Is Nvidia’s $700 million acquisition of the Israeli AI startup Run:ai in danger of being undone by the American Justice Department? This may be the case as Bloomberg reported that the Justice Department has subpoenaed a large number of documents from the chip maker best known for its video/graphics cards that are related to a number of recent acquisitions made by the firm. Apparently, American authorities are concerned about ant-trust issues.
The Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Nvidia for potential antitrust violations related to its AI chipsets. Sources close to the matter told… Read More Here
Other Business Stories
Meta Oversight Board Thinks ‘From the River to the Sea’ Phrase Not Hate Speech
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, seems to think that the phrase “From the River to the Sea” is not a form of hate speech; even though, the phrase means that Israel should not exist and has been used by ant-Israel protestors around the world since the October 7 Hamas massacre in support of the terrorist organization.
“From the River to the Sea” is the rallying cry for those who want the entire area located between the Jordan River to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the west to be made into a Palestinian State. This could only… Read More Here
Top 5 Israeli Business Developments from August
August was the eleventh month of Israel’s Iron Swords War against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. The ongoing war, coupled with the threat of an escalation in the fighting with Hezbollah terrorists based in Lebanon and/or an attack by Iran, has had serious consequences for Israel’s economy. This has led to the downgrading of Israel’s economic rating and more.
Here is Jewish Business News’ list of the five biggest business stories… Read More Here
IPOs and Unicorns
Coin Master Creator Moon Active Reaches $6B Valuation: Mobile Gaming Success Story
Moon Active, an Israeli gaming startup and a unicorn, has now surpassed $6 billion in revenue. This is all thanks to the hit game “Coin Master,” which brings in $1.2 billion a year, according to Sensor Tower.
Coin Master’s popularity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The game, which had already seen significant growth in 2019, experienced a surge in downloads and revenue in 2020. Strategic partnerships with celebrities… Read More Here
Politics
IDF Recovers Bodies of 6 Israeli Hostages Murdered in Gaza
The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) Saturday night located and recovered Saturday night from an underground tunnel in the Rafah region, the bodies of six deceased Israelis who were kidnapped during the seventh of October massacre and murdered by Hamas terrorists in Gaza: Carmel Gat (40), Eden Yerushalmi (24), Hirsch Goldberg-Polin (23), Alexander Lubnov (32), Almog Sarosi (27) and IDF Sergeant Major Ori Danino (25).
After an identification procedure carried… Read More Here
Israel on Strike: Masses demand immediate hostage release deal
Israel’s national labor federation, the Histadrut, ordered a general strike on Monday in support of those who are demanding an immediate ceasefire deal with Hamas that would bring the Israelis held hostage in Gaza for the past 11 months home, no matter what the cost. The strike means that Israelis Monday morning must get by without most public transportation services and more. The government has condemned the strike saying that the labor federation… Read More Here
Israel’s Political Landscape: Top 10 August Events Shaping the Nation
The biggest continuing story for Israel, of course, is the Iron Swords War against Hamas in Gaza. However, while this did dominate the country’s political landscape in August there were a number of other important news stories that rocked the country too.
Here is Jewish Business News’ list of the ten biggest political stories to come out of Israel in August 2024… Read More Here
Business Advice
Creating a Workplace Culture That People Don’t Want to Leave
Building a workplace culture that keeps your team engaged and loyal is more critical than ever in today’s competitive job market. Let’s explore some practical strategies for creating an environment where your employees thrive and want to stay for the long haul… Read More Here
The 10 Best Uses for Free Transition Sound Effects in Creating Marketing Pieces
Today’s competitive digital marketing environment makes grabbing and keeping attention more difficult. With video content taking over marketing strategies, sound design, such as transition sound effects, has become a great tool for enhancing storytelling, guiding the viewer’s experience, and driving engagement.
For instance, free transition sound effects offer creators an accessible resource for adding professional polish to their marketing pieces without blowing… Read More Here
Adam Milstein: How Jewish Nonprofits Can Maximize Impact
As of April 8th, 2024, over $1.4 billion had been donated to Israeli nonprofits since the October 7th terror attacks by Hamas. Such an amount raised in six months is unprecedented and shows the commitment of the global Jewish community to the safety and security of the Jewish state and its people.
Half of the $1.4 billion sum was raised by the Jewish Federations of North America and its member organizations alone, illustrating how successfully American Jews… Read More Here