Vegan on display
Several food businesses received popular acclaim at Tel Aviv’s Vegan Fest earlier in June (see previously). They include The Dim Sum Shop, Green Roll Vegan Sushi, and EggZit.
Another carmaker invests in UVeye
General Motors is the fifth multinational car manufacturer to invest in Israel’s UVeye (see previously). The funds are “to help fund the development and commercialization of the company’s vehicle inspection technology.” The firms will explore using the tech at GM’s 4,000 dealerships.
Helping Israeli cyber startups launch in US
Merlin (US) helps Israeli startups penetrate the U.S. federal market. Merlin Ventures arranges strategic investments in cybersecurity companies, Merlin Cyber helps with marketing strategies, and Merlin Labs brings the technology together. Merlin opened a Tel Aviv office in 2020.
Bayer to open Israeli cybersecurity center
German giant Bayer will open a cybersecurity development center at Bayer Israel’s existing Hod Hasharon offices in Israel, as part of the multinational’s global cybersecurity operation. Its aim is to engage and partner with the cybersecurity sector inside Israel’s tech ecosystem.
Jefferies Bank opens Israeli branch
The prestigious American investment bank Jefferies is setting up an Israeli branch due to the recent the sharp rise in local activity – the most since the 1980s. Jefferies is currently working on seven deals and expects, by September, to bring 20 private funds to Israel.
More and more trade with Arab states
Israel’s $200+ million trade with the UAE in May represents a 130% increase on May 2021. Trade with Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Bahrain also leaped by huge percentages.
Inaugural Emirates airline flight
The UAE’s largest airline Emirates made its first scheduled passenger flight to the Jewish state. 335 passengers flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv on a Boeing 777 “Gamechanger,” which, according to Emirates, features the world’s only fully enclosed first-class private suites with virtual windows.
Israeli dairy to produce no-cow milk products
Israel’s Central Bottling Company (CBC - a.k.a. “Coca-Cola Israel”) has signed a 10-year agreement with Israel’s leading cultured milk production company Remilk. CBC subsidiary Tara Dairy will use Remilk’s proteins to manufacture and market no-cow yogurts, cheeses etc.
The digital Shekel
The Bank of Israel has published the outline and main insights from its first technological experiment of the digital shekel project. The BoI reported that it had established distributed ledger technology (DLT) infrastructure on the cloud and applied a Quorum blockchain based on Ethereum open-source platform.
Boosting economic peace
Just over three decades after the Madrid Peace Conference, the city hosted the first Madrid and The New Middle East Business Summit. It comprised some 200 business delegates, who came to promote investment and trade relations between the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Spain.