Israel Active

Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya is launching Israel’s first BA program in Entrepreneurship in October (in English). Alternatively, the Jerusalem College of Technology offers a BSc in Computer Science (English) or BA degree course in Business Administration (partly in Hebrew).

I reported previously on Israel’s Rushdi Foods and its Mighty Sesame tahini.  Rushdi has now launched the ready-to-use, long shelf-life, vegan, natural, organic, sustainable, no additives, high-protein, gluten-free tahini in the UK.

Apple Inc. has acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup RealFace - whose facial recognition technology can be used to authenticate users. Its Pickeez app automatically chooses the user’s best photos.  This is Apple’s fourth acquisition in Israel.

Latest statistics show this is the best ever start to the tourism year in Israel. Between January and February 2017, 467,000 tourist entries were recorded, representing a 25% increase on the same period in 2016.

Israel’s Mindspace provides beautiful and inspiring office space for startups in prime locations in Tel Aviv and Germany. Mindspace has just raised $15 million to fund the opening of five new locations and expand within Europe and to the US.

The Israeli city of Eilat is to expand massively with the construction of 7,000 hotel rooms, 18,000 new homes, industrial zones, an international sports center, municipal parks, and a waste facility.

Chinese electronics giant Midea Group has acquired control of Israel’s Servotronix at a company value of $170 million. Servotronix develops automation solutions focused on motion control for robotics, printing, medical equipment, renewable energy etc. Development will continue in Israel.

Israel’s Carmit Candy Industries launched its new vegan “milk” chocolate snacks, coins and buttons at the Natural Product Expo West, Anaheim USA. The product line is fully dairy-free, gluten-free and has no artificial colorings, flavorings or preservatives - addressing most allergy concerns.

Israeli startup HiBob is developing a computer system for UK insurance giant Aviva, whose market cap is $20 billion. The system allows small and medium-sized businesses to simplify the establishment of a pension plan for their employees.

Accounting software giant Sage has ranked Tel Aviv University eighth in the world for training the founders of so-called unicorns - startup firms worth more than $1 billion. Tel Aviv alumni have founded seven such companies, including ForeScout, ironSource and Conduit.