Israel Active

A total of 87 companies from 18 countries have opened offices in Israel since 2014 to pursue research and development or innovation, according to new report published by Start-Up Nation Central, a nonprofit organization that connects international businesses with Israeli startups.

Microsoft has completed a lease for its new campus in Herzliya Pituach. The company will rent the 10-story 44,000 square meter Sea Tower building currently under construction. On completion, Microsoft Israel will relocate its staff from several Herzliya Pituach locations to the new building.

Co-working real estate company WeWork, led by Israeli Adam Neumann, has leased an office building in Shanghai, where in 2018 it intends to open its largest co-working space to date. The ten-story building covers 27,000 square meters.

Israeli-founded startup Puls sends a technician within 60 minutes in response to a request to install or repair your electronic device. Accept the fixed price quote on Puls’ website and they dispatch one of 1300 freelance technicians to your home. Available in 43 cities in 22 USA states.

Mobile ad startup YouAppi was the top company in the 2017 Deloitte Israel Technology Fast 50 list. YouAppi helps companies reach users through mobile ads and analytics, and has grown by 16,230 percent in four years. YouAppi’s platform is used by over 2 billion people.

Israel’s Frutarom has bought Poland’s Fabryka Substancji Zapachowych Pollena-Aroma, one of Poland’s leading producers of ingredients for the aromatherapy and natural cosmetics industries. It has also taken a 51% stake in Brazil’s savory solutions maker Bremil Industria.

Following pledges, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding for constructing an underwater gas pipeline from the Eastern Mediterranean region to Greece and Italy, to transport Cypriot and Israeli gas reserves to mainland Europe.

I reported previously on Israel’s Ceragon Networks which provides broadband wireless connectivity for international mobile service providers. Ceragon has just won a massive $66 million order to provide wireless backhaul services to a major Indian mobile operator.

I reported previously on the new Liteez stevia sweetener, shaped like a meringue, from Israel’s Lampados International. The sweetener is so popular that Lampados is completing a new plant expansion in Caesarea to cope with the growing demand.

The office space rental company WeWork, founded by Israeli Adam Neumann, is now worth $20 billion and has established itself in some 20 countries. WeWork has been buying up several companies recently, the latest being social networking company Meetup.