Israel Active

ELTA Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has won a deal reported to be worth $292 million to supply two long-range warning systems to South Korea. The mobile, ground-based Green Pine radar systems detect and track long-range missiles.

New regulations come into force in Shenzhen, China in 2019 that require all heavy trucks to have driver monitoring systems. So, China’s Exsun has partnered with Israel-based motion recognition startup EyeSight Technologies to integrate its systems with Exsun’s truck fleet management tools.

Israeli companies don’t exit as much as they did a few years ago., Israeli gaming giant Playtika has just bought out its German rival Wooga (makers of puzzles) for $100 million. Playtika’s annual revenue following the acquisition will surpass $1 billion.  No small shakes!

Israeli startup NooBaa’s technology makes it easy for companies to move data from one Cloud location to another or manage it in multiple locations as if in a single coherent data set. Anyway, NooBaa’s software is so good that Red Hat Inc (owned by IBM) just had to buy the company.

Israeli cybersecurity startup ITsMine is to provide its AI-based Data Loss Prevention solution free of charge to the worldwide hotel industry through the end of 2019. It follows Marriott hotel’s recent data breach that exposed the financial data of approximately 500 million guests.

I reported previously on the progress of the planned pipeline to take up to 20 billion cubic meters per year of Israeli natural gas to mainland Europe. Israel has now signed an agreement with Cyprus, Greece and Italy to lay the 1,242-mile pipeline – the longest gas pipeline in history.

Israeli-founded insure-tech startup Hippo has been doing a bit more than normal insurance companies to help Californian wildfire victims. First, using maps and artificial intelligence, Hippo warned customers in the route of fires to evacuate. They then arranged accommodation and helped with claims.

Britain’s minister for international trade, Liam Fox, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to replicate or improve on the trade relations currently enjoyed between the two countries as part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

I reported previously on Israeli cybersecurity startup Guardicore when it raised $50 million to help R&D and commercial expansion. Guardicore now has customers in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Ukraine and Switzerland and has won several major international awards.

WeWork, co-founded by Israel’s Adam Neumann, has opened a new co-working center in King George Street, Jerusalem. WeWork now has nine shared office spaces in Israel, including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheva and now Jerusalem.