Tel Aviv at sunset, Israel
New Startups / VC Funding
Retro Biosciences Brings In $180 Million from People Like Sam Altman
Sam Altman, Open AI CEO, is one of the investors who recently put $180 million into the new firm Retro Biosciences, which says it will add 10 years to a healthy human lifespan, starting with cellular reprogramming, autophagy, & plasma-inspired therapeutics
Retro Biosciences says the company’s mission is to increase a healthy human lifespan by ten years. “This will be intensely challenging and require substantial resources,” they said. “We are fortunate to have initial funding… Read More Here
Fairmatic Raises $46 Million for Insuretech
Fairmatic, an Israeli startup specializing in Insurtech 2.0, raised $46 Million in new funding just six months after its oversubscribed Series A brought in $42 million. This raise was led by Battery Ventures and Fairmatic has now brought in $88 million to date.
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.
The raise is hopefully a sign that things are picking up in 2023, after a disastrous 2022. It also might be a sign that the controversial judicial reforms being pushed through by the government of Prime Minister… Read More Here
Mitiga Raises $45 Million for Cybersecurity
Mitiga, an Israeli startup that offers cybersecurity solutions for cloud and SaaS incident responses, completed a $45 million Series A Round of funding led by ClearSky Security, with participation from Samsung Next and existing investors Blackstone, Atlantic Bridge and DNX. Leave it to an Israeli cybersecurity firm to buck the current trend of cutbacks due to the worldwide financial crisis and bring in the big money.
Startup Nation Israel is known for its security companies like Mitiga. The Israel Defense Forces’ vaunted 8200 cyber security unit produces many new high tech security experts. With the Corona Virus forcing everyone to work from… Read More Here
Optimove Now Offers Smart Solution for Unhealthy Gambling Habits
Optimove, an Israeli startup that offers a Customer Service Management (CRM) marketing service, is now offering a solution for responsible gambling that the company says includes advanced analytics and reporting features for operators. Optimove says that the platform allows operators to monitor their customers’ gambling behavior and identify potential problem gamblers. Operators can then use this data to intervene and provide support to players who may be at risk.
Responsible gambling practices have become increasingly important… Read More Here
IPOs and Unicorns
Ormat Technologies $320 Million in New Shares
Ormat Technologies, Inc., an Israeli geothermal energy company providing alternative energy solutions, has priced its previously announced underwritten public offering of 3,600,000 shares of its common stock. The company, currently traded on the NYSE, expects to close the sale on Thursday, March 16, 2023.
The price of the shares will be determined by the value set by the markets for Ormat’s shares, which closed at $89.50 on Tuesday. The firm… Read More Here
Mergers and Acquisitions
Nano Dimension Makes $1.1 Billion Bid For Stratasys
Nano Dimension, an Israeli company in 3D printed electronics, is making a $1.1 billion takeover bid for fellow Israeli 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys. Nano Dimension, already the largest investor in the company owing roughly 14.5% of Stratasys’ outstanding shares, offered a 28% premium on Stratasys shares at a price of $18 per share.
This is now Nano Dimension’s second try at buying up Stratasys. Last July Stratasys took what is commonly referred to as a “poison pill” – also… Read More Here
Israel’s Via Buys UK’s Citymapper For $100 Million
Via, an Israeli startup and a unicorn that offers new TransitTech, has acquired UK-based journey planning app and transit technology company Citymapper. While the terms of the acquisition was not revealed, Calcalist reported that it was for $100 million.
The move comes just one month after Via first became a unicorn. The company hit a $3.5 billion valuation with a $110 million financing… Read More Here
Cyren Trying To Unload Anti-Malware Tech to Icelandic Company
Failed Israeli Cybersecurity firm Cyren wants to try and pay off debts by selling off assets. A trustee for the company that was once worth as much as $1 billion is trying to sell its anti-malware technology to the Icelandic company Opin Kerfi hf (“OK”). Meanwhile, Israel’s Antidote Health joined with NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo in donating $1 million to the “Leave No One Behind” campaign which plans on offering free mental health care telehealth services provided by board-certified physicians to the people of Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s contribution comes through…. Read More Here
Other Business Stories
Valens and Other Israeli Firms Declare No Exposure In SVB Failure
Valens, an Israeli startup that provides high-speed connectivity solutions – chips — for the audio-video and automotive markets, is one of a number of Israeli firms issuing statements about its position with the failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), declaring neither it nor any of its subsidiaries hold cash deposits or securities, nor do they have debt with Silicon Valley Bank. SuperCom, an Israeli provider of Electronic Intelligence Solutions, issued a similar statement.
Valens Automotive calls itself a key enabler of the evolution of autonomous driving, providing the ultra-high-speed solution necessary to connect… Read More Here
Israeli Firms Can Relax – The Fed Ensures Bank Depositors after SVB Collapse
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week left a feeling of uncertainty everywhere, including in Israel where firms like Pagaya and Similarweb were huge clients of the bank. And business leaders and investors alike were concerned about the funds firms had in the bank. Well, now people can breathe easier as the U.S. Treasury Department approved a plan to guarantee the funds of all banks, including SVB. The measure was taken to prevent a loss of confidence in the banking system itself.
In a joint Statement, the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, and FDIC said, “Today we are taking decisive actions to protect the U.S. economy… Read More Here
MIGAL Launches World’s First Agri-Photovoltaics Knowledge Center
The MIGAL Galilee Research Institute, a mega-research center supported by Israel’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, announced the launch of the world’s first Agri-Photovoltaics Knowledge Center resource directory. Israeli workwear management company Polytex Technologies today announced the launch of its next-generation full cycle workwear solution, Polytex PRO and Israeli firms Granulate Partners and Vayyar made other new moves.
Migal explained Agri-photovoltaics is the use of agricultural land simultaneously for growing crops and generating solar power. While studies indicate that agrivoltaics installed on just 1% of arable land could fill global…. Read More Here
Israeli Government Attempts to Handle SVB Fallout
Israel’s Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Israel, and Israel’s Securities Authority and the Innovation Authority, have established a joint committee to determine what, if any, fallout will be felt in Israel as a result of the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in what was described as the largest failure of a US bank since Washington Mutual in 2008. Major Israeli firms like Pagaya and Similarweb borrowed a great deal of money from SVB.
The committee will be headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Attorney Shlomi Heisler and will be in contact with the local high-tech industry, funds and financial institutions in Israel and the US for the…. Read More Here
Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Has Repercussions in Israel
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed in what was described as the largest failure of a US bank since Washington Mutual in 2008. On Friday, the Federal government was forced to take over SVB and this is having repercussions in Israel where hundreds of firms are said to have deposits with the bank.
In the U.S., depositors are insured by the Federal FDIC program for up to $250,000. Federal authorities pledged that all such deposits will be secured and small depositors will get all of their money back, while it is working on how to disperse the bank’s funds to larger depositors. Some companies have hundreds… Read More Here
