Israel Active

Israeli online data ownership startup Mine (reported previously) has completed a $9.5 million funding round led by Gradient Ventures – the first time Google’s AI-focused venture fund has invested in an Israeli company. Mine has just launched its data privacy product in the United States.

Chinese venture capital fund RunYoung Technology Transfer Center has launched a $50 million fund dedicated to investing in Israeli early-stage life sciences companies that are interested in entering the Chinese market. It will invest up to $5 million in each Israeli startup.

Etihad Airways, the second largest airline in the UAE after Emirates, has announced that it will begin operating flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv on March 28, 2021. In the announcement, Etihad said it would fly to Tel Aviv "the economic and technological center of Israel."

Several compliments in the latest report from the International Monetary Fund. Timely and decisive measures helped preserve market and financial stability and access to credit. Support to the health system, households and businesses helped soften the economic impact.

As predicted previously, financial ratings agency Standard & Poor’s affirmed their high AA- credit rating for the Jewish State with a stable outlook. S&P cited Israel’s robust financial system and access to capital markets. They also noted Israel’s recent agreements with Arab states.

According to the latest World Economic Forum and World Bank report, Israel spent 4.95% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP on research and technology in 2018 – the highest in the world. Most went into computer systems, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and medical research. (Great chart - select Israel to highlight)

Israeli startups ChargeAfter (reported previously) and Personetics (reported previously) are two of the 13 “carefully selected” fintech partners in a Visa Inc. initiative to equip its banking clients in Europe with a suite of new payment technologies.

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Israeli-founded cybersecurity SentinelOne (reported previously) has just raised $267 million, valuing the company at $3 billion. SentinelOne develops artificial intelligence technology for identifying abnormal behavior in enterprise networks and is planning to go public in the US next year.

The Israel Security Business Forum (ISBF) is a new channel in which CEOs from hundreds of Israel’s cybersecurity companies meet and discuss relevant issues. The ISBF provides opportunities to brainstorm ideas and develop new ways to protect systems, data and people.