Israel High Tech Scene January 1– January 7

Tel Aviv at sunset, Israel Startup Israel

New Startups / VC Funding
Opsys Tech Raises $51.5 Million
Opsys Tech Ltd., an Israeli startup that develops a patented True Solid-State Scanning LiDAR technology, held the final closing of its Series C financing round. The final closing raised $36.5 million, bringing the total amount of Series C funding to $51.5 million. The financing round included major investments by leading venture capital firms, including 83North, Osage University Partners, Translink Capital, and Saban Ventures.

Lidar is a component of Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Lidar measures distances by illuminating a target with laser light and measuring the reflection with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and… Read More Here

Israel Launches Historic New Nanosatellite into Space
Tel Aviv University proclaimed that it has made a new technological achievement with the launch of three nanosatellites into space in less than two years. And the third one, TAU-SAT3, was the first Israeli nanosatellite designed to communicate from space with an optical ground station. It was launched this week on SpaceX’s launch vehicle Falcon 9, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. According to the researchers, TAU-SAT3, developed at the Center for Nanosatellites of TAU’s Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, represents a scientific breakthrough, paving the way toward the demonstration of optical and quantum communication from space via nanosatellites.

NASA explains that nanosatellites, which weigh less than 10 kg (22 lbs.), help advance scientific and human exploration, reduce the cost of new space missions, and expand access to space. Through technological innovation, small satellites enable entirely new architectures for a wid… Read More Here

MediWound Gets FDA Approval For NexoBrid
MediWound Ltd., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company focused on next-generation biotherapeutic solutions for tissue repair and regeneration, won approval from the FDA for the use of its NexoBird burns treatment, for the removal of eschar in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns. MediWound will receive a $7.5 million milestone payment from Vericel Corporation which (holds an exclusive license to commercialize NexoBrid in North America) that was triggered by the FDA approval of NexoBrid.

NexoBrid is already approved for use in 43 countries, including the European Union, Japan, India, and other international markets. NexoBrid (anacaulase-bcdb) is a botanical drug product containing proteolytic enzymes indicated… Read More Here

Made-In-Israel Quantum Computer Coming Soon
The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) announced the formation of the largest consortium in its history, with the aim of developing Israel’s quantum computing technologies. The new project comes with a budget of NIS 115 million ($33 million).

So, what is quantum computing anyway? Well, IBM explains that quantum computing is a rapidly-emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers. These machines are very different from the classical computers that have been… Read More Here

Startup Companies in Israel 2011-2021
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released data on the state of startup companies in Israel during the period of 2011-2021. The data shows that overall, Israel Startup Nation did well during this period, which includes the worldwide Covid shutdowns of 2020 and 2021. The period does not include 2022 which was a dismal year for businesses the world over.

The source of this information is a database that includes start-up companies and companies that have matured, or opened in Israel in the years 2003-2021. The database was built by the CBS, funded and with the cooperation of the National Institute for Civil Research and Development in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and it provides a snapshot…. Read More Here

Mergers and Acquisitions
Zebra Technologies Sold To Matrix
Israel’s Matrix, an IT service management firm, has acquired fellow Israeli company Zebra Technologies, which calls itself a value-added distributor. Matrix is taking a 70% stake in Zebra for roughly $18.5 million. According to Globes, Zebra has revenues of $70 million per year.

Founded in 2014, Matrix employs about 11,000 people and has a market cap of nearly $1.3 billion on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The company boasts that it has a unit of technology leaders that assist startups & technology…. Read More Here

Israel’s SolarEdge To Acquire England’s Hark Systems
SolarEdge, an Israeli producer of alternative energy resources, is set to acquire the entire share capital of Hark Systems Ltd, a British firm that offers a Software as a Service (SaaS) Internet of Things (IoT) platform that allows enterprises and asset operators to connect, analyze and optimize industrial assets and energy in their commercial sites.

Founded in 2006, SolarEdge is a global leader in smart energy technology. The company states that it creates smart energy solutions that “power our lives and drive future progress… Read More Here

Other Business Stories
Bank of Israel Raises Interest Rate By 0.5%
The Monetary Committee of the Bank of Israel (BOI) raised the interest rate Monday by 0.5 percentage points to 3.75%. The main reason for the new raise in rates was the continuing problems with inflation.

Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Amir Yaron commented on the decision explaining that high inflation involves growing uncertainty and increasing difficulty in making decisions at the household and the business levels, weighs on economic conduct, and adversely impacts growth… Read More Here 

BOI Forecasts 3% Inflation In 2023
The Bank of Israel (BOI) released its estimates for inflation and GDP in Israel in 2023. According to the forecast, GDP is expected to grow by 2.8 percent in 2023, and by 3.5 percent in 2024. The inflation rate in the coming four quarters (ending in the fourth quarter of 2023) is expected to be 3.0 percent. The inflation rate in 2024 is expected to be 2.0 percent. According to the forecast, the monetary interest rate is expected to average 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

A 3% rate of inflation is not bad – not great either. But most… Read More Here

2.67 Million Tourists Visited Israel In 2022
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism reported that in 2022, the first full year after the end of the Covid crisis shutdowns, 2.675 million tourists entered the country (as opposed to only 397,000 in 2021 and 831,000 in 2020). But tourism to Israel in 2022 was about 41% lower than 2019, which was a record year for incoming tourism. Revenue from incoming tourism in 2022 stands at about NIS 13.5 billion ($3.82 billion) (not including cost of flights) as opposed to about NIS 23 billion ($6.54 billion) in 2019.

The skies in Israel were opened officially to incoming tourism in March 2022 and only three months later, in May, without any… Read More Here

Salesforce And Kaltura Making Massive Layoffs
Marc Benioff’s Salesforce is the latest major corporation forced to make cutbacks due to the ongoing worldwide financial crisis announcing that it would lay off about 10% of its workforce – including many in Israel where it employs 700 people – and close some offices as a part of a restructuring plan. In addition, Israeli live and on-demand video SaaS solutions provider Kaltura is also letting people go, laying off about 11% of the company’s total workforce.

Salesforce, like many companies in 2022, saw its market…. Read More Here

Elbit Systems to Establish New IDF Armored Training Facility
The Israel Ministry of Defense signed an agreement with Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense systems manufacturer, to establish and operate a new advanced training facility for the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Armored Corps combat soldiers. The government of Israel described the new venture as an “Armored Corps Revolution.”

The agreement’s value is estimated to be 400 million NIS and includes…. Read More Here

Israel Investing Millions in Energy Storage
Bar-Ilan University and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have won a call published by the Ministry of Energy for the establishment of a national research institute in the field of energy storage. The aim of the institute is to encourage Israel’s energy sector to take a leap forward in response to national strategic challenges, with an eye toward global applications, as well as to train cadres of future experts in the field and facilitate the transfer of innovative technologies from the academic environment to industry.

The institute will be led by a joint steering committee of the Ministry of Energy, the research institutions, and outside parties. The steering committee will be headed by Ministry of Energy Chief Scientist Dr. Gideon Friedman… Read More Here