Israel Active

Israeli startup As You Stay lets travelers save money at 400,000+ hotels and properties by eliminating fixed check-in and check-out times. It also states that the current cost of this flexibility is far lower than pre-pandemic. And, unlike the song “Hotel California”, you can always leave!

Israel’s Glilot Capital, which until now specialized in early-stage tech ventures, is launching a new $170 million VC fund focusing on investments in more mature companies. Glilot+ (Glilot Plus), will seek to place $5 – 20 million in each of around 15 enterprise software and cybersecurity companies.

Despite the global economic crisis, Israel Bonds sold an unprecedented $1.8 billion in investments during 2020, mainly in the US. Proceeds of the sale of bonds are used to promote Israel’s technological growth.  The funds will help Israel offset the economic challenges that are expected to come.

Israel’s Aleph Farms (reported previously) is partnering with Mitsubishi Corporation’s Food Industry Group to bring cultivated (slaughter-free) meat to the Japanese table. It will help reduce Japan’s reliance on imported food, and to reach its goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Israel’s Elbit has won a $1.68 billion contract to build a training center for the Greek air force, in the largest defense deal ever between the two countries. It includes a flight training school, planes, simulators and Israeli trainers.  The historic contract’s 20-year duration signifies long-term cooperation.

Israel’s Vertical Field (reported and previously) is to set up vertical farming installations at Ukrainian supermarket chain Varus.

Israel’s Shareitt has developed a social trading platform that facilitates the buying and selling of second-hand goods in exchange for Shareitt coins. The platform will trade books, toys, and sports goods, among others. Shareitt has around 10,000 active users who have sold more than 61,000 items.  (Hebrew)

Japanese insurance giant Sompo and Israeli ride-sharing company Via Transportation have launched NORAZA - a new app that enables elderly Japanese to share rides, paying with virtual local currency. Japan is trying to reduce car accidents involving the elderly and to reduce traffic congestion.

Israel’s Lusha helps small, medium and large businesses establish a fast and trusted connection with their leads, contacts, and candidates. Lusha is used daily by over 250,000 sales representatives, recruitment managers, and marketers. Clients including Google, Amazon, and Apple.

The Israeli incubator InNegev is dedicated to fostering Israeli innovation in the Negev. It has just made its first major investment in Israel’s SightBit (reported previously). Sightbit uses AI and computer vision technology to detect and prevent swimmers from drowning off Israeli beaches.