Israel Active

Israel’s Transmit Security (see previously) leaped in value to become another Israeli startup to gain the status of a “Unicorn”, with the largest Series A investment in the history of cybersecurity. The $543 million of new funds gives Transmit Security a valuation of $2.2 billion.

Music education startup JoyTunes (see previously) has just completed a $50 million funding round at a $1 billion valuation, giving it the financial status of a “Unicorn”.

The Hilton hotel chain is looking forward to the end of the pandemic. It announced plans to build two new hotels on Tel Aviv seafront. In total there will be 577 rooms in the two hotels, which will be housed in one building north of the existing Tel Aviv Hilton. The hotels will open in 2026.

Paid Time Off (PTO) is often unusable until an employee terminates their job. Israel’s Sorbet has developed a platform that allows employees to convert unusable PTO into cash. Sorbet buys out PTO and gives employees virtual prepaid cards for travel experiences, flight upgrades, training courses etc.

Israel’s Aquarius Engines (see previously) and UK’s Kampac International (KIP) are forming the Middle East Aquarius Automotive company to produce automotive products based on Aquarius technology in the United Arab Emirates. KIP will invest up to $1.2 billion in the UAE facility.

Deloitte Israel and Deloitte US are to mentor a second group of seven Israeli startups that wish to grow their business in the US after the pandemic. The Launchpad program will advise on strategy, relocation, sales infrastructure, and access to top tier venture capital funds in the U.S.

Entrepreneur and JVP chairman Erel Margalit has launched Startup City.Galil – a unique studio for startups in the fields of foodtech and agritech in the Galilee. It will provide members with a range of laboratory infrastructure, and dozens of researchers in the fields of environmental food and agriculture.

The Bank of Israel has issued digital currency for a first internal pilot program prior to the possible issue of a digital Shekel. Israel’s Central Bank Deputy Governor Andrew Abir has been tasked with examining the need for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and its implications for the financial sector.

The Israeli Business to Developer (B2D) sector is growing as companies develop products that automate and simplify the jobs of highly sought-after hi-tech developers. Examples include Lumigo, Orca Security, OwnBackup, Redis, Snyk and JFrog. (All but Lumigo featured here previously).

There are now 85 Israeli companies traded on the Nasdaq and NY Stock Exchange. Their combined worth is over $300 billion – up 50% since Jan 2021.