Israel Active

Israeli defense contractor Rafael (makers of Iron Dome) has bought Israeli drone manufacturer Aeronautics for an estimated NIS 850 million.

US retail tech giant Amazon is acquiring Israeli storage technology startup E8 Storage for an estimated $50-60 million. E8 Storage develops flash storage installations based on software, which E8 Storage say are cheaper than current hardware solutions, but ten times faster.

Israel’s Monday.com is used by 350,000 people in 80,000 organizations, from 76 countries to manage and track projects, manufacturing lines, and schedules. It has just raised $150 million, valuing the company at nearly $2 billion and making it a Unicorn. So how is it that I’ve never reported on it?  I need Monday.com!

I reported previously on the reduced sugar juice technology of Israel’s Better Juice. Better Juice has since won a 50,000 Euro grant from the EU’s Horizon 2020 program and is setting up a pilot plant thanks to Brazil’s Citrosuco, the world’s largest orange juice producer.

Shares in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange company have been floated on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Demand for the 31.7% stake on offer has outstripped supply by a factor of five to one.

I reported previously ) on Israel’s Lightricks – developer of Facetune, Enlight and Swish. The startup has just raised $135 million of funds to value the company at $1 billion and give it the financial title of a “Unicorn”. Lightricks revenue in 2018 was $150 million – 3 times that of 2017.

I reported previously that McDonald’s had bought Israel’s Dynamic Yield for $300 million. The purchase is already making a big return on investment as the burger chain has seen large increases in sales thanks to the Israeli-developed AI personalized digital menus.

Ambassador Ettinger’s latest report compares Israel today to its economic position 30 years ago.  It has certainly come forward a long way. Note the massive increase in GDP, Exports, currency reserves, energy resources, desalinated water, employment of women and number of students. http://theettingerreport.com/israels-economic-surge/

I reported previously on Israeli-founded Hippo and its smart home insurance technology. It has just raised another $100 million of funds, bringing it up to the finance-language status of a “Unicorn” – i.e. a company with a market value at least $1 billion.

I reported previously on Israel’s Trax and its image recognition and computer vision analytics tools that allows retailers to keep track of their stock and inventory. Trax has just received another $100 million investment to fund further R&D in Israel, valuing the company at $1.1 billion.