Israel’s Economy Minister, Orna Barbivai, visited Morocco to sign “a historic cooperation agreement”, aiming to establish the economic foundations of trade relations between the two countries.  Barbivai (see here previously) is an ex-IDF Major General. Her husband was born in … Continue reading →

Israeli satellite communications provider Spacecom and its partners are investing NIS 400 million to launch its “Earth & Beyond” incubator to support Israeli startups developing deep tech space technology.  The Israeli government will also fund up to 85% of the … Continue reading →

Cheq raised $150 million; Pontera (FeeX) raised $45 million; anecdotes.ai raised $25 million; Aporia raised $25 million; Zero Networks raised $20.3 million; Valerann raised $17 million; Astrix Security raised $15 million; Kenbi raised $5 million; Varos raised $4 million; Salvador … Continue reading →

Israel’s Cheq (see here previously) has joined the Unicorn club by raising $150 million at a valuation of $1 billion. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rkq00augg9

Danish toymaker Lego has announced plans to open its first store dedicated to Legos in Tel Aviv “before the summer”.  There are 628 Lego stores worldwide, planned and designed by Lego in a consistent way. Israeli stores will be identical … Continue reading →

Israel’s Innovation Authority has awarded a total of NIS 500 million to five Israeli incubators operating in the fields of health tech, food tech, space tech and energy. Startups operating in each incubator will each receive up to NIS 6.5 … Continue reading →

Google is investing $25 million over 5 years, to extend its existing initiatives for attracting minorities to Israel’s hi-tech sector. They include Adva, a two-year computer science training program for Jewish seminary girls, and a new Tsofen program to integrate … Continue reading →

Mashreq Bank in the United Arab Emirates is to use the fraud detection tools of Israel’s ThetaRay (see here previously) to secure cross-border payments between financial institutions. Mashreq is the Emirates’ oldest private banking institution and ThetaRay’s first UAE customer. … Continue reading →

Israel to begin exporting gas to Egypt via Jordan. The new route, in addition to the existing Ashkelon-El Arish pipeline, will increase current 5 billion cubic meters of gas exports to Egypt by more than 50% It will generate an … Continue reading →

Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Israel’s A+ rating with a stable outlook. It noted the huge 8.1% increase in GDP for 2021, and a reduced budget deficit from 11.4% of GDP in 2020 to 4.5% in 2021. https://www.timesofisrael.com/fitch-affirms-israels-a-rating-citing-strong-2021-economic-performance/ https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/fitch-affirms-israel-at-a-outlook-stable-29-07-2021