Israel Active

Despite the global economic slowdown, Israel-headquartered VC firm Entrée Capital has raised $100 million for a new, third Israel-focused fund. It will target early-stage Israeli founded startups active in the fields including deep tech, SaaS, fintech, quantum computing, AI, AR / VR and healthcare.

Israeli start-up Yemoja, cultivates customized, pharmaceutical grade microalgae on demand. It utilizes unique, high precision, fast-track photobioreactor technology. Yemoja aims to develop these marine “super-crops”, boosting the entire microalgae value chain with new varieties and yields.

Israel’s Elbit Systems has been awarded a contract worth $15 million to provide command and control (C2) systems for the Tactical Reconnaissance System (TASYS) of the Swiss Armed Forces. It will help generate a common operational picture and facilitate rapid and effective decision making.

Israel has recruited local start-up Qlarium to screen providers of medical equipment to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Qlarium, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to give an intelligence picture about the reliability of suppliers, including the Chinese market.

As part of Israel’s economic rescue plan, the Finance Minister is selling $5 billion of bonds to international investors. It includes $1 billion of 100-year bonds – the longest dated bonds in Israel’s history. They won’t be unsold - they are underwritten by Barclays, Citibank, BofA and Goldman Sachs.

Israeli startup Bringg already provides delivery management software for the likes of Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Walmart. Its version for small businesses has been launched early, due to coronavirus, and Bringg is offering it free to food and beverage companies.

Nataly Yousef of Israel’s Pitango Venture Capital writes about 5 business areas that are currently thriving despite the coronavirus pandemic. They are Health & Wellness, Grocery Deliveries, Remote Learning, Remote Working apps and On-line Entertainment.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Israel-Colorado Innovation (ICI) Fund is actively looking for new investments in Israel. ICI Fund’s focus is IoT in agriculture, water, construction, industry 4.0, energy, and oil and gas. It hopes to soon close its fourth investment in Israel.

The Israeli government has promised financial support worth NIS 50 million to Israeli start-ups advancing solutions to combat the coronavirus pandemic. It said it will fund most of the development expenses for companies with exceptional impact breakthrough technologies.

Microgreens are harvested 7 to 20 days after seedlings emerge. Young leafy sprouts pack far more flavor and disease-preventing nutrients per gram than adult plants. Israel’s 2BFresh produced 85 tons of microgreens in 2019 for the domestic and overseas markets. Great video.