Even more Japanese investment
2018’s 28 investments and acquisitions worth $710 million by Japanese companies in Israeli startups was eclipsed in 2019 by 53 deals worth $815 million. Japanese interest in Israel surged after PM Netanyahu’s 2014 Japan visit and PM Shinzo Abe’s to Israel in 2015.
Tel Aviv fintech innovation hub launched
A new fintech and insurtech (finance & insurance technology) innovation hub - “Axell” - has been launched in Tel Aviv. It aims to generate partnerships between local and international corporations (e.g. Generali, AIG and Israel’s Maccabi Healthcare Services), and Israeli startups.
Second Israeli cybersecurity acquisition for Mimecast
US cybersecurity company Mimecast has acquired Israeli cybersecurity phishing protection startup Segasec Labs for around $40 million. In 2018, Mimecast acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Solebit Labs for $88 million in cash.
Sapiens intelligent acquisitions
Israel’s Sapiens International has previously taken over US and Spanish companies to build up its insurance software empire. Now it has bought German digitalization software developer Sum.cumo GmbH for 28.4 million euros to help expansion into Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
See Israeli companies in Beverley Hills
18 Israeli companies will be presenting at “Merage-Homeland / Cybersecurity" in Beverley Hills on 22nd Jan. The event has been arranged by the Southern California-Israel Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Elite Entrepreneur Organization.
Israeli growth tops all Western countries
Israel’s economy, measured by its GDP, grew by 3.3% in 2019. This was the highest rate among Western countries and almost double the OECD average of 1.7%. Israel’s GDP has risen 44% in the past decade.
Record 4.6 million tourists
A record 4.6 million tourists visited Israel in 2019 - 12% more than in 2018. Most were from the US, followed by France, Russia, Germany and Britain. Tourism contributed some NIS 22.5 billion ($6.6 billion) to the economy in 2019. Tel Aviv is one of Google’s top trending destinations.
Israeli foreign reserves rise by $3.64 billion
Israel’s foreign currency reserves soared in December by a record $3.64 billion to end the year at a new all-time high of just over $126 billion. In 2019, the Israeli Shekel appreciated against all major Western currencies and became the world’s strongest currency.
Record year for digital health
The 580 Israeli digital health startups raised $662 million in 2019 - a 32% increase on 2018. Israel is unique, as all citizens are members of a health company, each with some three decades of (anonymized) digitized data, available for startups to develop breakthrough systems and devices.
A booming decade
Just one of many articles summarizing Israel’s economic achievements of the last 10 years. It highlights that there are more than 6,400 startups and 362 multinational companies operating in Israel today.