Driver safety system hits the big time
Israel’s Cipia (see previously) is to provide its Driver Sense driver monitoring system (DMS) to a leading European maker of components for commercial vehicles. There are now 10 global vehicle manufacturers that are using Cipia technology.
25 more F-35s
Israel is to purchase 25 F-35 ‘Adir’ fighter planes from the US for $3 billion. Up to five planes will be delivered each year from 2028, to complete three squadrons of F-35s and a total of 75 planes.
Smoother flying
El Al Airlines has signed a codeshare and club sharing agreement with Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic on the Tel Aviv to London Heathrow route. It comes into effect on Jun 19. El Al has code share agreements with Delta, Air France and Scandinavian. Virgin is a member of the Sky Team Alliance.
Inflation lower than expected
Israel’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% in May, for an annual rate of 2.8% - much lower than economists' expectations. The cost of fresh vegetables and transport fell substantially.
Terminal 1 re-opens as Ryanair returns
Ben Gurion airport's low-cost Terminal 1 reopened on Jun 3rd for international flights. A few hours later, Ryanair's first flight in Israel since February landed. It will operate routes between Tel Aviv and Berlin, Paphos, Budapest, Bari, Milan, Malta and Athens.
Eyes for French aircraft engine manufacturer
Israel’s Odysight.ai has received a purchase order from France-based Safran Aircraft Engines. Odysight.ai will supply its cutting-edge micro cameras to support Safran’s experimentation, planning and development of jet engines for the aviation industry.
Startup investment – to 9/6/24
raised (IPO);
Exits, takeovers and mergers – to 9/6/24
Germany’s SAP is acquiring Israel’s for ;
US-based Tenable is Israel’s for “tens of millions of dollars”.
Israel’s has Colorado’s Acroname.
Pineapple delight
Israel has cancelled customs duties on pineapple imports from Costa Rica, leading to plummeting prices. Israelis have taken full advantage, almost doubling their normal consumption. The fruit already had increased its popularity, rising from 1.1 million sold in 2021 to 1.9 million in 2023.
$260 million order for Elbit
Another (undisclosed) international company has recognized Israel’s dominance in the defense technology industry with a two-year, $260 million purchase order for systems from Israel’s Elbit. In 2023, Elbit earned revenues of approximately $6 billion and now has an order backlog of $17.8 billion.