Israel Active

Israel is commencing production from Leviathan’s 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas field, formally turning the Jewish state into an energy powerhouse. The milestone for the country will pave its way to “energy independence” and, via exports, to stronger ties with its neighbors.

Ambassador Ettinger’s final report of 2019 highlights 2019 hi-tech exits totaling $9.9 billion (double that in 2018). The past decade featured 587 exits, totaling $71 billion. If follow-on deals are included, the total surges to $108 billion. The report also includes some excellent economic indicators.

Israel’s Aleph Venture Capital has raised a $200 million fund, for investing in Israeli startups. It previously raised a $180 million fund in 2016 and $150 million in 2013. It aims to support ambitious Israeli entrepreneurs who want to build global brands from Israel.

Tel Aviv University and Israel’s Shin Bet Security Agency have announced the 3rd cohort (intake) of its accelerator program Xcelerator. Its six new startups work in fields including speech recognition, real-time video analysis, and cybersecurity.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has opened an innovation center in Tel Aviv, in partnership with US-based accelerator Starburst Ventures. The Israeli teams chosen for the first class of the accelerator develop radar, robotics, and autonomous driving technologies.

Israeli-founded ride-sharing company Via Transportation already has one Research & Development center in Tel Aviv, with 250 employees.  It has just announced it will be opening a second R&D center in Jerusalem, employing another 50 staff.

Israel’s Elbit has just won a $65 million order to supply the Armed Forces of the Netherlands with protection equipment for soldiers, radio gear and wearable computer units, as well as vehicle and command and control systems.

Israeli-founded urban mobility company Moovit now has over half a billion users of its popular public transportation application in 3,000 cities, 94 countries and 45 languages. It helps transits and commutes thanks to partnerships with major multinationals including Uber, Microsoft, and Waze.

Russian airline Azimuth only began operations in 2017. Already it has begun a direct service to Tel Aviv from the West Russian city of Rostov. It also intends to inaugurate two new routes between Ben Gurion Airport and southwestern Russian cities Krasnodar and Mineralnye Vody in 2020.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Israeli property prices rose between January and August 2019 by an average of only 2% and new properties fell by 4.8%. Prices also fell in 2018, following an 80% rise over the previous decade. 2019 construction starts (52,000) was on target.