Free Trade Agreement with UAE
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have finalized details for a massive free trade agreement worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It covers 95% of all traded products, leading the way to customs-free import-export of food, agricultural products, medical equipment, medicine, and cosmetics.
Israel’s first American whiskey distillery
Noam and Alan work by day in finance and architecture. But by night they run Legends, Israel’s first American-style whiskey distillery. Located near the site where David defeated Goliath, they named their first product “slingshot”.
Even more positive
Rating agency Moody’s affirmed Israel’s credit rating as A1 and upgraded its economic outlook from stable to positive. Israel’s 2021 exports beat all forecasts, with an unprecedented volume of $143 billion – over 20% more than in 2020. For the first time, the exports of services exceeded the exports of goods.
OurCrowd to open in Abu Dhabi
Israel’s OurCrowd is to open a global AI innovation and research center in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It will provide finance-focused, AI-based research as a service. OurCrowd’s Jon Medved spoke at an Abu Dhabi investor conference in early 2020 (see ).
Azerbaijan opens official tourism office in Israel
On the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, Azerbaijan has opened its first tourism office in Israel and signed a cooperation agreement to work together to further the industry.
Massive hiring spree planned
The OurCrowd High-Tech Jobs Index for the last 3 months of 2021show that Israeli high-tech startups are planning a hiring spree in 2022 as the Coronavirus pandemic recedes. 72% of OurCrowd’s 177 portfolio companies report hiring more staff in Q4 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
Defending Europe
Four recent examples of Israeli defense systems purchased by Czech Republic, by Sweden, and (two) by Germany.
Twelve Tel Aviv Techstars
12 Israeli startups were selected for the sixth group of the Tel Aviv Techstars accelerator. They are Valid.it, +SCALE, Pledger Giving App, Platera.ai, Synergym.Ai, Testory, Beez Tech, Dodo Smart, Luzverde, Calosense, Eco-Price, and Price backers. Each receives $120,000 of matched funds.
Takeovers and mergers
Israeli mobile security startup has been acquired by US-based (Steven Mnuchin) for .
LinkedIn (the world’s largest professional network) purchased Israel’s for ;
Israeli cybersecurity is being acquired by Turn/River Capital for ;
US-based ITT has acquired Israeli valve manufacturer for .
The latest Unicorn
Israel’s Viz.ai has raised $100 million at a valuation of . Meanwhile the revenue of Israel’s Pagaya grew by 379% in 2021 to , and is now valued at $8.5 billion.