Israel High Tech Scene August 17 – August 23

Israel High Tech Scene August 17 – August 23

New Startups / VC Funding
AI-Powered Healthcare Payment Solution: PayZen Revolutionizes Medical Billing
Israeli startup PayZen is transforming healthcare payments with advanced AI and automation. By seamlessly integrating into EMR/EHR systems, we offer personalized payment plans that alleviate financial stress for patients while boosting revenue for health systems. The company raised $32 million in a Series B round of investment and a new $200 million credit warehouse from Viola Credit and a syndicate of insurance companies.

Founded by its CEO Itzik Cohen, COO/CFO Tobias Mezger… Read More Here

Israeli Startup Chaos Labs Revolutionizes Onchain Risk Management for Crypto
Chaos Labs is an Israeli startup that offers services in onchain risk management for cryptocurrencies. The firm raised $55 million in a Series A funding round led by Haun Ventures. Chaos Labs plans to leverage this funding to accelerate new product development and scale its cutting-edge risk management platform. The platform currently features enhanced observability tooling, innovative risk oracles, and real-time parameter recommendations… Read More Here

Israeli Startup definity Revolutionizes Application Monitoring and Remediation
Israeli startup definity has come out of stealth and released a next-generation Data Application Observability & Remediation solution, purpose-built for Spark-first data platforms. The firm also secure $4.5 million in Seed funding led by StageOne Ventures.

A Spark-first data platform is a data architecture that prioritizes Apache Spark as the core engine for data processing, analytics, and machine learning workloads. This approach leverages Spark’s versatility, performance, and… Read More Here

Israel’s Kubiya Unveils AI Teammates: Automate DevOps Tasks with Virtual Assistants
Kubiya is an Israeli startup that offers a Conversational AI solution for DevOps teams. The firm raised an additional $6 million in an equity and debt extension of its seed round of funding for a total of $12 million. At the same time, Kubiya released its AI Teammates, which it says offers a new way for developers to delegate DevOps tasks through organic, human-like conversations.

DevOps is a set of practices and cultural philosophies that aim… Read More Here

Automated Accounting and Tax Software for Solopreneurs | Israeli Startup Lettuce Financial
Lettuce Financial is an Israeli fintech startup that offers an automated accounting and tax solution for solopreneurs. The company closed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Zeev Ventures. This comes after the launch of its LettuceHead AI, a free, first-of-its-kind AI-chat bot specialized to answer solopreneurs’ tax and accounting questions.

Lettuce says it was developed by solopreneurs for solopreneurs. Solopreneurs are individuals who start and run their own businesses… Read More Here

Lusix, Lab-Grown Diamond Company Backed by Benny Landa, Faces Closure Risk
Lusix, a producer of lab-grown diamonds (LGD) backed by Israeli entrepreneur and inventor Benny Landa, is in danger of shuttering. While the company raised $150 million in investments, it is now looking for protection from $15 million of debt owed to Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank and Amot Investments. Lusix’s problems result from a 90% drop in the value of lab-grown diamonds.

Apparently, it turns out that artificial diamonds are not a girl’s best friend… Read More Here

Politics
6 Israeli Hostages’ Remains Recovered in Khan Yunis, Gaza: Bodies Returned for Burial
In a joint operation by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the Shin Be (Israel’s General Security Service – anti-terror) the remains of six Israelis who were killed in Gaza were recovered in Kahn Yunis and returned to Israel for burial. The victims were all kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas massacre and then murdered at some point during their captivity in Gaza.

The victims whose remains were recovered were Yoram Metzger…. Read More Here

Are Hamas Demands Blocking Hostage Deal with Israel
The new round of negotiations for the return of 115 Israeli hostages who have been held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists for almost 11 months are currently underway in Doha, the capital of Qatar. While the return to the negotiating table by both sides has raised the hopes of many, many more are skeptical about the possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement and freedom for the hostages who were taken during the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

Hamas is already blaming Israel for any failure. The terror group released a statement Sunday night saying, “The new proposal responds to Netanyahu’s… Read More Here

Science/Culture
Sunflower ‘Dancing’ Mystery Solved: New Israeli Study Explains Darwin’s Puzzle
A joint study by Tel Aviv University and the University of Colorado, Boulder, has revealed that plants, such as sunflowers, that grow in crowded conditions, where each casts a shadow on its neighbor, employ a collaborative strategy to optimize their growth. By engaging in random movements, these plants collectively find optimal growth directions. This research offers valuable insights into a long-standing scientific mystery, the functional role of circumnutations, which are inherent plant movements that have intrigued scientists since Darwin’s time… Read More Here

Gulf of Eilat Sponges Reveal Unique Predator Defense Mechanism | Marine Biology Discovery
A groundbreaking study conducted at Tel Aviv University revealed a unique survival strategy employed by sponges in the Gulf of Eilat. Researchers discovered that these marine creatures have developed a potent defense mechanism by accumulating an exceptionally high concentration of the highly toxic mineral molybdenum (Mo).

Molybdenum is a trace mineral essential for various biological processes in humans, animals, and plants. It is a component of several enzymes… Read More Here

Mergers and Acquisitions
Johnson & Johnson to Acquire V-Wave: $1.7 Billion Deal for Israeli Medical Device Innovator | Healthcare Merger News
Johnson & Johnson announced the acquisition of V-Wave Ltd., an Israeli company specializing in innovative heart failure treatments. The deal is valued at $600 million upfront, with potential for additional payments of up to $1.1 billion based on future regulatory and commercial milestones. V-Wave will become part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.

In 2016, Johnson & Johnson led a $28 million fundraising round in… Read More Here

Other Business Stories
JPMorgan Chase Downgrades Israel’s Economic Outlook Amid Weak Macroeconomic Data”
US investment bank JPMorgan Chase has revised its forecast for the Israeli economy downward, citing a slew of disappointing macroeconomic indicators. These include a GDP growth rate of just 1.2% annualized in the second quarter and an inflation rate that climbed to 3.2% in July, the highest level since November.

In a report titled, “Israel: Not a great combo of growth and inflation data,” JPMorgan stated it anticipates the Bank of Israel will prioritize… Read More Here

Google Partners with Israel’s Energix in $1.5 Billion Renewable Energy Agreement | Israeli-US Clean Power Deal
Energix Renewables, a player in the US renewable energy sector and part of the global Energix Group, announced a strategic long-term partnership with Google in a project that could be worth up to $1.5 billion. The agreement, initially covering 1.5GWp of solar project development until 2030, will see Energix supply electricity and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to Google. Google will also serve as a tax equity provider for Energix, supporting the development of these solar projects.

The company said this collaboration solidifies Energix’s position… Read More Here