Monthly Archives: April 2015

Israel’s surging stock market

Here is a detailed analysis of the economic and political factors behind the recent gains in Israel’s stock market. Note the statement that Israel “is the dominant leader in technological innovation, which is pulling solid capital into the country.” http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/170629/inside-the-surging-israel-etfs

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See the forest through the trees

An interview with Ben Rudin of Israel’s Intelescope. As reported in my 29 Mar 2015 newsletter, Intelescope uses drone and satellite imagery to provide critical data on the forests that cover 31% of the earth’s land mass. It can also … Continue reading

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One of the best bike rentals in the world

USAToday has rated Tel Aviv’s Tel-O-Fun bike-sharing program as the 8th best of 533 similar facilities around the world. Tel-O-Fun began operations in Apr 2011. Its 2000 bicycles provide around 9,000 individual rides per day. http://www.timesofisrael.com/losing-its-training-wheels-tel-avivs-bike-share-scheme-turns-five/

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Music Messenger takes South America

The world’s 20th most popular music app is Israel’s Music Messenger. It averages one million new users a month and has just raised $35 million of funding from investors including UK Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovitch and ex Abba … Continue reading

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Ryanair really wants Israel

Europe’s largest airline Ryanair is resuming talks in Israel to operate flights from Tel Aviv to several destinations in Europe with return tickets at around €140 (about $150). “We want our flag in the State of Israel”, said Ryanair’s deputy … Continue reading

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Georgia looks for Israeli cyber security partners

A delegation of 32-member team from the US of Georgia has returned from visiting Israel and is enthusiastic about attracting Israeli cyber security companies to the US State. http://www.georgia.org/2015/04/20/israel-cyber-security-georgias-opportunity/

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67 portfolio companies

Israel’s OurCrowd, the world’s leading equity crowdfunding platform, marked Israel’s 67th birthday by announcing its 67th portfolio company. ElMindA (see Sept newsletter) developed the world’s first FDA-approved neural functional assessment tool to visualize serious brain trauma and illnesses. http://blog.ourcrowd.com/index.php/67-2/

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Israeli tech feeds a billion people

Rafi Mehudar is one of this year’s Israeli Independence Day torch-lighters. 42 years after he invented the modern form of drip irrigation, it is still used by only 5% of the world’s farmers. But that technology is responsible for crops … Continue reading

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Blackberry to establish Israeli R&D center

Canadian handset maker Blackberry has bought Israeli device security company WatchDox, whose 100 employees will form the basis of Blackberry’s Israeli Research & Development team. http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/21/blackberry-watchdox/#.pzbyug:T40M

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German electric giant opens Israeli R&D center

German energy giant RWE AG, one of the five largest energy and gas companies in Europe, is opening an innovation center in Israel in order to develop tech for a smart grid – a metering system that will keep track … Continue reading

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