East Med Gas Forum is a game-changer
July saw the first meeting, in Cairo, of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, comprising Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, the Palestinian Authority and – yes – Israel. These two articles suggest that the EMGF is already transforming the geopolitics of the region.
Intel buys Habana Labs for $2 billion
Intel has acquired Tel Aviv-based artificial intelligence chip developer Habana Labs Ltd. for $2 billion. It is Intel’s second-largest acquisition of an Israeli company. Habana Labs develops processors optimized for artificial intelligence applications.
An intelligent acquisition
Israel-based software testing company Qualitest has bought Israel-based data analysis and machine learning company AlgoTrace. The companies have been working together for over a year. Qualitest says the purchase will enable it to rapidly increase the number of AI-based testing products it offers.
Israeli fund raises $115 million for medical startups
Israeli venture capital firm Peregrine Ventures Management Ltd. has raised a $115 million fourth fund. Peregrine has 45 med-tech, biotech, and life sciences companies in its portfolio and over $200 million under management.
Israeli-founded used-car company raises $0.25 billion
US-based Vroom was founded by Israeli-born Elie Wurtman and Allon Bloch, Vroom develops an online direct-to-consumer platform that offers low-mileage reconditioned vehicles, with possible finance and insurance. Vroom has raised a total of $694 million in funds.
Expanding crop analytics to Central America
Israel’s CropX (reported previously) is partnering with FarmAgro of Costa Rica to bring CropX’s agri-tech solutions and tools to farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean. CropX’s FarmAgro helps analyze the impact of climatic variations and improve agriculture yields.
More Israeli internships
This newsletter has included several articles recently about opportunities for young people from overseas to have an internship with an Israeli organization. You can download information on many more from the 1st linked site below. The 2nd link is just one example from the download.
Jerusalem – the world’s fastest growing tourist destination
UK business intelligence company Euromonitor International shows Jerusalem as the world's fastest growing destination. Its 3.93 million overseas tourists in 2018 was up 12% from 2017 and the projected 4.8 million visitors in 2019 is another huge increase.
Non-stop to Australia
Israeli airline El Al is to trial commercial flights from Tel Aviv to Melbourne Australia from April 2020. It will initially offer three flights each way, aimed to gauge interest in the potential of launching such a route permanently. Flight times are around 17 hours.
On the right track
The long-awaited 57-kilometer electric train route connecting Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon station and Tel Aviv’s HaHaganah station has opened to the public. Travel time is around 33 minutes, including a stop at Ben Gurion airport.