Israel Active

I reported previously on Israeli computer vision startup Cortica. Now, BMW and Toyota’s investment arms, together with Israel’s OurCrowd are partnering with Cortica to launch Cartica - a subsidiary that will develop Artificial Intelligence for autonomous vehicles.

Amazon has given Israeli retailers a 12th Sep date for the launch of its service in Israel. It has urged registered retailers to ready their stock and product list, advising them to prioritize products that could be popular ahead of the Jewish New Year commencing 29th September.

The consortium operating Israel's largest gas field Leviathan is in advanced talks to sell its natural-gas condensate – worth some $1 billion over the 35-year life of the field. The gas production by-product can be used as a raw material in the production of greener fuel or as a diluent for oil.

Just two months ago McDonald’s launched its new Big Vegan burger in 18 Israeli outlets. It has now expanded this to 40 of its 186 branches in Israel. The Big Vegan is produced by Osem-Nestle subsidiary Tivoll. McDonald's is also marketing a double-size vegan burger.

I reported previously on Mobileye’s plans for its massive global development center in Jerusalem.  The cornerstone for the new campus has just been laid by Israel’s PM, together with the Economy Minister, the Jerusalem Mayor and Mobileye’s president and CEO.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Israel's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Rating (IDR) at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook. It cited strong external finances (with high financing flexibility), robust macroeconomic performance and solid institutional strength. S&P affirmed its AA- rating early in August.

I reported previously on the anti-bacterial coating for fabrics of Israel’s Sonovia when the startup was called Nano Textile. Sonovia has just been awarded a 2.4 million euros grant from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

I reported previously on Israeli music education startup JoyTunes. Its main app Simply Piano has been downloaded 10 million times. JoyTunes now has more than 200,000 paying subscribers and has just raised $25 million to expand its product range.

2017 data just published by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics shows that expenditure by businesses in Israel on research and development totaled NIS 66.5 billion ($19 billion). Over 100,000 people were employed full-time in R&D.

I’ve reported previously on Israel-based cybersecurity company Checkmarx. It has just won a contract with the U.S. Navy to help it improve its software security and accelerate the development of secure software applications.